Posted on 03/26/2014 5:38:22 AM PDT by lbryce
John Thornton is CEO of Astrobotic Technology. He contributed this article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
When the XPRIZE Foundation announced the Google Lunar XPRIZE in 2007, Astrobotic Technology chairman Red Whittaker declared his intention to compete on the first day. Since then, we have worked methodically on the technology and operations for the $20 million Grand Prize. We have approached this from the outset as an opportunity to build a business.
With only a few lunar landings since Apollo, there remains a deep cultural belief that they are extraordinarily difficult and expensive. Bold, risky pursuits are called "moon shots." Indeed, NASA estimated that the Apollo program cost $170 billion in 2005 dollars about $28 billion for each of the six landings.
Field test of the Astrobotic Red Rover in a quarry.
There aren’t any Muslims on the Moon...we’ve been told the first mission of NASA is “outreach to the Muslim world.”
I’ve always hoped that we could do some spacefaring and moon colonizing, and by “we” I mean the USA.
Thank you for the APOD extra, Sir.
First I’d like to do some USA colonizing, since we’re currently under foreign rule. I wouldn’t bet against a permanent US human presence on the Moon. I also wouldn’t bet on the foreign rule continuing.
From your keyboard to God’s monitor.
Practically speaking, RTGs are typically useful for only one or two hundred watts, so a machine of this sort would likely have to use a reactor. On the plus side, it would only use a fraction of the shielding once in space or on the Moon.
It is a good question whether the reactor would be part of the tunneling robot, or just connected to it with a long cable, part of the train taking the tailings out of the tunnel. Until it was cannibalized for support members and pressure doors, the lander would act as a transceiver, powered by the reactor on a second cable.
Finally, Wal-Mart is not the place to shop for this, but you might try Caterpillar.
With what?
there are no current reactors that run unattended. There are no current reactors that are designed for radiative cooling. There may be some concept design stuff out there, but that's a long way from existing technology. remember that reactors just produce steam, and you need a generating plant with cooling at the other end from the reactor.
And why?
To the Moon, Five Years Later
http://www.mikebrownsplanets.com/2014/03/to-moon-five-years-later.html#more
:’)
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