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NASA Planning Steps To Moon, Mars
Spacedaily ^ | 3/1/04 | Frank Sietzen

Posted on 03/01/2004 7:31:22 PM PST by Brett66

NASA Planning Steps To Moon, Mars


back to the future or forward to the past? - (Apollo 15 file photo)
 by Frank Sietzen
 Washington (UPI) Mar 01, 2004

NASA's plan to implement President George W. Bush's moon-Mars-beyond space vision will use small incremental steps called space policy building blocks, according to documents just released by the agency.

The strategy is meant to keep costs low and make sure no one policy direction will threaten the evolution of the overall project.

The first of the building blocks, called Lunar Testbeds and Missions, will include a major new series of space robotic probes to the moon, along with an accelerated program of unmanned Mars exploration. Both elements were covered in funding requests in the fiscal year 2005 budget for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which is now under review in Congress.

NASA already has announced the first part of the Bush plan: a new series of reconnaissance satellites to be launched into lunar orbit. Scheduled for blast-off in 2008, the satellites will map the lunar surface in greater detail than ever before, identifying and classifying features such as large rocks and boulders, rills, hills and canyons. The idea would be to create maps that visiting astronauts -- and their robotic companions -- can use to navigate their landers and roving vehicles.

Other elements include a robot landing on the moon in 2009, on a mission to begin to define the technologies and components for extended human stays on Earth's natural satellite. Gradually, NASA's plans call for robotic missions of up to a year in duration. The robots would establish a communications network on the moon, demonstrate reusable launch technology and explore ways for planetary missions to use the moon as an orbiting Cape Canaveral -- with one-sixth th! e liftoff thrust requirements as Earth.

The second building block is called Mars Research, Testbeds and Missions. Here, the space agency will begin developing a more aggressive robotic exploration of Mars, beginning in 2011. Called human precursor missions, these new rovers and orbiters will start to demonstrate technologies that humans would employ during trips to the red planet in future decades.

These tests would include ways for manned ships to enter the Martian atmosphere and slow down to gain orbit, new orbital rendezvous techniques, docking of robotic spacecraft together, and test precision landing techniques.

About the time the first human landings on the moon occur, around 2015, robots on Mars will start to test ways to extract resources from the planet's soils that could sustain life or create rocket fuel. The success of these missions will determine the timing of the first human Mars voyages.

! Also on tap for the Mars robots is assembly and operation of a new type of power system that could provide electricity to a Mars base. Derived from Project Prometheus -- NASA's effort to create atomic rockets and power plants -- the pilot plant will be tested first on the moon, then on Mars by robots. The machines will assemble habitats, and the new atomic reactors and power stations, to construct a primitive base camp that could await occupation by visiting astronaut crews.

One other building block element: Astronauts will begin to learn assembly skills during space shuttle flights and stays on the International Space Station, as well as on early visits to the moon.

The goal of all these efforts, NASA officials say, is to pave the way and establish extensive experience in working in space that will be useful regardless of the destination selected -- the moon, Mars, asteroids or even more distant locations in the solar system.

Frank Sietzen covers the aerospace industry for UPI Science News. E-mail sciencemail@upi.com

This is a new UPI series examining the Bush administration's plans for future U.S. space exploration. Next: Robots to the outer moons -- and designing the first moon lander in three decades.

All rights reserved. Copyright 2004 by United Press International. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by United Press International. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of by United Press International.


TOPICS: Government
KEYWORDS: goliath; lunar; mars; moon; nasa; space
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More details on the new initiative.
1 posted on 03/01/2004 7:31:22 PM PST by Brett66
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To: *Space; RightWhale; anymouse; RadioAstronomer; NonZeroSum; jimkress; discostu; The_Victor; ...
Nuke reactors on the moon.......
2 posted on 03/01/2004 7:32:28 PM PST by Brett66
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To: Brett66
Damn those guys at NASA are sure impressive. This is only about 35 years late. Now I'm supposed to get all excited about them doing what we should have been doing in 1970? NASA, drop dead.
3 posted on 03/01/2004 7:35:46 PM PST by DoughtyOne
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To: Normal4me; RightWhale; demlosers; Prof Engineer; BlazingArizona; ThreePuttinDude; Brett66; ...
Space Ping! This is the space ping list! Let me know if you want on or off this list!
4 posted on 03/01/2004 7:37:06 PM PST by KevinDavis (Let the meek inherit the Earth, the rest of us will explore the stars!)
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To: DoughtyOne
If a corporation was spending their budget we would have an outpost at Jupiter by now.... we just couldn't touch Europa.....
5 posted on 03/01/2004 7:45:50 PM PST by GeronL (http://www.ArmorforCongress.com......................Send a Freeper to Congress!)
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To: Brett66
Geeze, it's sure nice that the boys at NASA could find the time to fit the actual exploration of space into their other plans.
6 posted on 03/01/2004 7:46:13 PM PST by KellyAdmirer
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To: Brett66
One other building block element: Astronauts will begin to learn assembly skills during space shuttle flights and stays on the International Space Station, as well as on early visits to the moon.

This should be outsourced, as the building of living quarters should be. By keeping every piece in house, they are crippling the entire effort. There will be less innovation (which does not mean there will be none) and less incentive for the rest of America to care.

7 posted on 03/01/2004 8:15:14 PM PST by irv
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To: DoughtyOne
DoughtyOne wrote: "NASA, drop dead."

Dude, Nasa didn't cut its own funding. Congress did. And besides there could never have been a mass exodus off the planet after a few years of traipsing around cislunar space. Apollo will pale in comparison to the complexity and scale of the project that we are now beginning. We weren't ready for that in 1972. I hate to use this tired analogy, but Lewis and Clark were not immediately followed by the people on the Oregon Trail. That happened 150 years later. Why have we expected different from space?
8 posted on 03/01/2004 8:33:28 PM PST by unibrowshift9b20
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To: unibrowshift9b20
Wait, what the heck am I saying? 50 or 60 years later. Man, this is bad. I just bombed my calculus test too....
9 posted on 03/01/2004 8:35:44 PM PST by unibrowshift9b20
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To: GeronL
Can't touch Europa... LOL. Good one. I agree with you BTW.
10 posted on 03/01/2004 9:21:04 PM PST by DoughtyOne
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To: GeronL
Can't touch Europa... LOL. Good one. I agree with you BTW.
11 posted on 03/01/2004 9:21:44 PM PST by DoughtyOne
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To: KellyAdmirer
I'm putting a gas station Mini Mart on the way there.
12 posted on 03/01/2004 9:23:56 PM PST by Iberian
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To: KellyAdmirer
I'm putting another on the way to Uranus. Actually maybe we'll have bars and a little gambling as well.
13 posted on 03/01/2004 9:25:51 PM PST by Iberian
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To: Brett66
This is the coolest website......

http://www.apolloarchive.com/apollo_gallery.html
14 posted on 03/01/2004 9:29:04 PM PST by geege
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To: DoughtyOne
They put 2001 on one of the cable channels today, I saw some of it..
15 posted on 03/01/2004 9:29:05 PM PST by GeronL (http://www.ArmorforCongress.com......................Send a Freeper to Congress!)
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To: Iberian
Asteroid Belt Outpost & Last Chance (till Uranis) Saloon
16 posted on 03/01/2004 9:30:02 PM PST by GeronL (http://www.ArmorforCongress.com......................Send a Freeper to Congress!)
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To: GeronL
I like it.
17 posted on 03/01/2004 9:36:27 PM PST by Iberian
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To: Iberian
Asteroid Mining Station & Last Chance (till Uranis) Saloon

same thing though...

18 posted on 03/01/2004 9:40:07 PM PST by GeronL (http://www.ArmorforCongress.com......................Send a Freeper to Congress!)
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To: unibrowshift9b20
To: DoughtyOne

DoughtyOne wrote: "NASA, drop dead."
 
Dude, Nasa didn't cut its own funding. Congress did. And besides there could never have been a mass exodus off the planet after a few years of traipsing around cislunar space. Apollo will pale in comparison to the complexity and scale of the project that we are now beginning. We weren't ready for that in 1972. I hate to use this tired analogy, but Lewis and Clark were not immediately followed by the people on the Oregon Trail. That happened 150 years later. Why have we expected different from space?
 
8 posted on 03/01/2004 8:33:28 PM PST by unibrowshift9b20

For the record, I'm somewhat sympathetic with your arguements, but lets look at them.

NASA didn't cut it's own funding.  Okay, I agree with that.  I'd have let NASA spend more money as long as it got some bang for the buck out of it.  Let's look at what NASA has done with it.  I'll even let you heap praises on NASA and list the things it has done with 35 years worth of budgets.  I may be a little off base here, but I believe NASA's budget has been ten to fifteen billion per year for that whole 35 years.  I'll gladly concede if someone can challenge that.  Let's say I'm wrong and NASA only got $7.5 billion per year.  That works out to $262,000,000,000.00.  Yep, that's $262 billion dollars.  And if as I suspect they got $10 to $15 billion per year, we're looking at somewhere between $350 to $524 billion dollars.

Now, please tell me what we got for it.

Did we get a new space plane to replace the shuttle?
Did we get a nice space station with artificial gravity, with a nearby floating weightless platform for scientific research?
Did we develop a program for easy entry into space so private interprise could take over?
Did we return to the moon and set up a moonbase?
Have we really progressed to the point that we can now honestly plan entering and inhabiting space for a reasonable price?

Unless you know something I don't know, the answer to all these questions is "HELL NO!"

Tell me what we have accomplished, if none of this was accomplished?

I'll tell you a few things we have accomplished.  We have failed to even support our own satellite launch sustems to the point that US concerns actually ship off their Satellites to communist China rather than wait for a launch capability from NASA.  The braintrusts at NASA that mis-managed us into this situation facilitated transfers of space technology to China, which facilitated their perfecting nuclear delivery systems, multiple warhead deployment and pinpoint accuracy for their targeting systems.  What an accomplishment NASA.  You guys are marvelous.

But why stop there.  NASA has also perfected the ability to launch shuttles when they aren't fit to fly, aren't fit to return to earth and then didn't take their heads out of their posteriors long enough to develop a backup system in order to save their own crew's lives.  Last but not least they developed an iron-clad method of diflecting any blame on their criminally negligent staff.  Let's have a big round of applause for these jackasses.

Let's use your Lewis and Clarke analogy one more time.  If Lewis and Clark had taken the money to finance their expedition and burnt 75% of it, then hired a crew to help them on their journey, had left town and shot 14 of them dead before reaching their goals, I'd be a little miffed.  If after 35 years they were still trying to build a boat sound enough to take them up-river, I think we can safely say they'd have been tared and feathered if they showed their faces in public again.

In today's world, we've allowed NASA to do just that.  Now, were poised to given them another mandate.

I am reminded of the new employee who after working five years was unable to successfully tackle his new job.  Confronted by his boss with this fact, the employee appologizes and pleads for just six more months.  The manager responds by saying, you've had five years to tackle this position.  You don't need six more months to prove what you couldn't in five years.

NASA, you've had 35 years.  Hit the road!  Your FIRED!







19 posted on 03/01/2004 9:55:36 PM PST by DoughtyOne
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To: GeronL
Kubric had more insight into space than 35 years worth of NASA planners did. We have a brick up there that we paid 70-90% of the cost of, then call it an international space station.

These internaionalists need to find a new nation to screw up and leave ours in peace.
20 posted on 03/01/2004 10:00:47 PM PST by DoughtyOne
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