Posted on 08/03/2005 6:51:52 PM PDT by KevinDavis
Will people be living on the moon in our lifetime? Better yet, can Americans do what they do best -- exploit a resource for all its money-making potential -- on the moon? If those at last week's Las Vegas Space Conference have their way, the answers to those questions is a resounding yes.
Don't let the topic throw you. These folks aren't sporting aluminum helmets and drinking Tang between discussions of Star Trek episodes (although the television program did occasionally come up in casual conversation). These are hardcore geeks who are united in realizing the full potential of the moon. This conference is the sixth annual on the topic and the first ever to bring in NASA officials as panelists and participants.
"They are listening to innovators in the community, which, frankly, up until now they've been hesitant to do," said conference organizer Jeff Feige of the Washington, DC-based Space Frontier Foundation. He credits last year's successful privately funded space flight for the Ansari X Prize with the momentum between public and private sectors.
(Excerpt) Read more at lasvegascitylife.com ...
Loonies. It's a rock. And rocks are beautiful and useful things. But we have lots of them here where the level of effort required to get them does not exceed the level of potential energy they would contain if they were made of pure plutonium.
Until they hit the private property issue hard, they are spinning their wheels. Technogeeks should be able to handle a little legal theory.
I am considered a geek, even where I work! LOL!
I am with ya 100%.
Also, we should take a hard look at the regulations for developing and flying private launch vehicles.
I think space settlement is a more complex issue than simple energy computation.
I have many crystallized memories of Apollo, including seeing live (from Miami!) the last one going up. I'm sure many here have similar memories. But few outside of that crew would list Apollo 9 first!
HEY! That is people who do , well nothing useful anyway!
This is not like Columbus setting off from Genoa. Space is an extremely hostile environment.
Life is dangerous no matter what..
Yes, the entire legal environment seems to dead set against any private sector progress in outer space. It is not the law, which has no natural logic or goal in itself, but those who live in a legalese world who are batting down all plans, hopes, and attempts to develop outer space as casually and as unconsciously as they might scratch an itch. There is no thinking going on, either in the technogeek world or the legalbeagle world when it somes to space development.
"Not enough has been done to understand and overcome the amazingly quick degradation of bone mass and muscle tone during sustained space travel."
The leading mission profiles for Mars transit missions have a near-constant thrust profile to the planet, negating the general cause of bone demineralization. On the Moon, the 1/6th of a gee will do nicely. Additionally for the Moon, the lower stress on the heart could make it a nice little retirement community.
"... cosmic radiation are inherent limiting factors for human space exploration."
Long-duration flight crew accomodations to Mars will be sheilded by fuel, superstructure, etc. and all but the most energetic and diffuse radiations will typically be present. A lot of the angst over Mars transit missions has been on how long the crews would be traveling, i.e. two to two-and-a-half years. Now it looks like about ninety days. On the Moon, a foot of so of piled lunar dirt over habitats will provide complete protection.
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