Great, we can send all the libs to the moon for less than previously thought.
Ok, but if we are going back to the moon, next time, let’s tie a rope to the capsule, connected to a giant spool down here on Earth. Then, once it gets to the moon we can just zipline on over.
*Yawn*
We knew that not just 25 years ago but 50 years ago
—The study also recommends creating an International Lunar Authority, “modelled after CERN,” to manage the combined business and technical risks of lunar operations.“—
‘International Lunar Authority’.
Mmmm...sounds Orwellian, or Brave New World, or 1984ish to me.
Certainly not something we should be subject to.
They could have had a dedicated ship parked at the space station that could make runs to the moon and back, no need for re-entry. Could be refueled by unmanned ships until it was ready for a crew.
So this is a great idea.
How about we make things in America once again so we aren’t spending our nation’s fortune on Chinese imports?
(not kidding in the slightest)
Once upon a time, we actually expected to get there. Now it's a distant dream, even at a tenth of the expected price.
The best bet for returning to the Moon is based on the idea of “cumulative” results. That is, every mission there improves the place, so missions are not redundant, and can last on the Moon longer and be more productive.
The cheapest and best way to do this with existing technology is to first send nuclear powered tunneling robots. Horizontal tunnel habitats in the interior walls of crater cliffs, plugged with pressure doors, solves the big problems on the Moon.
They protect from vacuum, extremes of heat and cold, cosmic and enhanced radiation, and the very abrasive Lunar dust. The robots could begin years before people set foot on the Moon, and continue to tunnel even after the people leave, creating a larger and larger habitat. And while the people visit, they would have abundant energy from the robots nuclear power.
Since the robots would be on a one way trip to the Moon, their landers could be designed to be cannibalized for pressure doors, structural supports, ceiling, walls and floor, all “plug and play” for that purpose, wired with electrical and other conduits.
And, after a substantial, permanent Moon base was built, the concept could be reused to go to Mars. A far more hospitable place if improved by robots for years before we set foot on it.
"Nuclear reactors could provide power almost indefinitely. Greenhouses could maintain plant life. Animals could be bred and slaughtered. I would guess... that ah, dwelling space for several hundred thousands of our people could easily be provided. A computer could be set and programmed to accept factors from youth, health, sexual fertility, intelligence, and a cross section of necessary skills."
Getting to the moon has always been pretty cheap.
It's getting back alive that is expensive.
It’s just part of the Muslim outreach approach: just take the train.
Roundup all Muslims and send them to the moon to colonize it. Then send the majority of blacks who vote for Democrat slavery to the moon to get a taste of REAL slavery from their Arab masters.
Sheila Jackson Lee can finally get that flag!
No doubt the Russkies are all over this.
I’m not surprised that we haven’t heard about their moonbase yet.
Our media wouldn’t report it.
I mean, come on, our astronauts have to hitchhike on their rockets while NASA screws around with Muslim outreach and global warming.
When the Russkies do announce it, Putin is going to raise that flag and say that the Moon is now a Russkie satellite.
the cost ............ could be reduced by a factor of 10 using a number of techniques – and it could also have implications for getting humans to Mars.
How could they find time for this with all of there global warming studies?