RadioShack To Co-Sponsor Lunar Mission

IntelliTubbie writes: "In an 'unorthodox form of brand sponsorship,' RadioShack is teaming up with LunaCorp, a Virginia-based space exploration startup. The goal: put a robotic rover on the moon featuring the RadioShack logo. Artist's renderings of the monstrosity can be seen at LunaCorp's web site. We're one step closer to the eerie predictions in 'Fight Club': The IBM Stellar Sphere. Planet Starbucks. Yikes." Unfortunately the robot will be powered by a TRS-80 ModelII, requiring 14 extra tons of propellant (grin). More coverage can be found at Yahoo! and discovery.com; CMU is creating the H₂O-seeking robot for the mission. (More.)

And on a related note for anyone interested in going to the moon in the relatively near future, MrScience writes: "I just received a link for this job in my mailbox from Guru.com, a pretty decent headhunter website. They are looking for a Financial Analyst to evaluate the NASA Academy, and "The end result will be a recommendation that the program either *is* or *is not* beneficial, and the specific reasons to justify such a conclusion. This report will then go before the NASA Administrator to justify the existence (or removal) of the program." I grew up dreaming of going to this, who wouldn't after seeing SpaceCamp?" Pound foolish, anyone?

Comments

ONE MEEILLOON DOLLLARRS!!

[GoNINzo]

You do realize that Radio shack is only putting up one millon dollars. Don't you think that if space travel was that cheap, other companies with multi-billon dollar incoming would have already done this?

They are obviously in need of more backers, with a lot more money. How likely do you think a backing from Microsoft is?

Microsoft claim moon
Reuters
In a surprise move today, Microsoft has launched a capsule that supposedly contains the source code for all Windows products towards the moon. In reaching the moon, the source can then claim itself an soverign entity, with no governmental or terriestrial ties. Claiming problems with bandwidth, the source only repeats over and over 'I am a thinking entity. You need me for Age of Empires.' People around the world are stunned at this new innovation from Microsoft.

It's expected that the legal and marketing abilities of the probe are highly advanced, enabling it to buy companies remotely and sue people for making parody web pages. Other companies are very interested in buying this technology, but when they show interest are immediately bought by Microsoft.

Bill Gates was unavailable for comment, but Steve Ballmer stated unequivocally 'Microsoft is bigger than the Earth, we're intergalatic now. We're bigger than Jesus. You could never be as 31337 as us.' The statement then degenerated into a series of 'uNF's and 'jajajaja's.

--
Gonzo Granzeau

Won't it look like if McDonalds...

[Alex Belits]

sponsored a gourmet chefs contest?

I'm All For It

[tealover]

Since most Americans have an aversion to giving up any up their "hard earned" pay to taxes, this may be the wave of the futuer. Let corporations fund these missions so they can deduct it from as a tax write-off. I'm all for anything that advances space research, just as long as the companies backing the missions don't try to attach any strings to the missions.

This isn't as bad as one might think

[DranoK]

Please read the articles if you haven't already.

This isn't like the sole purpose of this "monstrosity" it to gain advertising for Radio Shack. Radio Shack is helping fund a commercial company for their projects. When you think about it, this is a good idea.

Commercialization, unfortunately, is one of the best ways to continue funding space research etc. Personally, I think some of the major advances in space technology will come from the commercial sector, as they have the potential to have a very large budget (as well as actually make money off their work some day). Radio Shack is donating a lot of money for this company's research. Why is it so wrong they want to be acknowledged for that? Why would Radio Shack fund them if they can't put their logo on it? Or brag about being it's sponsor? No corporate sponsor is going to donate a large sum of money totally anonymously.

And if logos are so bad anyhow, why don't we get rid of all the NASA ones on the space shuttles? God forbid that they advertise... ;)

Peace,
DranoK



That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange eons even death may die.

Fine by me.

[roystgnr]

Let corporations have the moon; there isn't a government on Earth that seems to want anything to do with it. You'd think polar ice and martian microbes would be enough to spark a little more public interest, but I suppose everybody's much more worried this year about how to save the Ponzi Security system.

What are you afraid of? Are Radio Shack sponsored rovers going to cause traffic problems between our thriving lunar cities? Are their communications frequencies overlapping important bands that the NASA Lunar Observatory uses? Are their rocket landings going to disturb the aluminum refineries and the ice mining operations?

I know, I know, it's a corporation on the moon, so it must be a horrible thing for humanity. I just happen to think having nobody on the moon, three decades after Apollo, is worse.

So I hope they get all the financing they need, send as many rockets as they want up there, and bring back video from any place they can drive a rover. I particularly hope they drive by all the old Apollo sites; maybe seeing an overturned American flag through the eyes of a Radio Shack toy will wake up a few people.