Where Should Space Exploration Go From Here?

Lovejoy asks: "I have done extensive reading since the Columbia tragedy about what's next for human space exploration. Most of the punditry agrees that extending the shuttle program for many more years is a bad idea. So what are the practical alternatives? I've seen ideas for new spacecraft, a carbon nanotube space elevator, among other things. What are the best ideas you've seen? Will the best idea win, or the one with the most pork barrel contracts? Does space travel/exploration have to be THIS expensive? What are the best short term/long term solutions?"

Since Congress has been steadily cutting back on support for NASA, Nick suggests this idea: "I'm sure there are many taxpayers out there like me that would love to see NASA's budget doubled. The problem is there isn't enough support to get congress to increase the budget by that amount, and I really don't want people to pay that don't care to. I propose an opt-in, one-time contribution box added to tax returns. I would require that my money be used only to advance the space program with either a shuttle replacement, an extra crew compartment for the space station, or a launch vehicle for a manned trip to Mars. Would you support a bill that would allow taxpayers to voluntarily contribute money to NASA? Are you ready to put your coin where your Dreams are?"

Comments

The obvious answer

[Exiler]

Well, space.

Re:The obvious answer

[illogical_simby]

It should go somewhere useful and do useful things! For instance, what is the benefit of sending Australian spiders into space? I for one, would like to see useful science experiments get carried out. Example

1) Urinating into your own mouth safely
2) Spewing up and running away
3) The possibility of having an "3000 mile high club"
4) Checking which direction the toilet flushes

and so forth. Call me insensitive (God bless their souls), but these are the answers NASA should be providing.

Easy Question

[Anonymous Coward]

It should go up.

Re:Easy Question

[efatapo]

It should go up.

I think the more important part is that it come back down....in one piece

On Southpark...

[donnz]

they just built a stairway to heaven. Can the same technology not be re-used? I think the Japanese were working on something similar.

A modest proposal or two

[Tsar]

Proposal A:

1. Build a cheaper single-stage-to-orbit vehicle.
2. ...
3. Profit!

Proposal B:

1. Develop a self-replicating nanoscale device that eats air.
2. Let its progeny digest the entire atmosphere and excrete it as solids.
3. Ta-daaaaa, we're in space!

Of course, further study may be advisable.

Space Elevator

[eyeball]

I wonder how large a no-fly zone would be required to protect a space elevator from terrorists.

Re:Where? Forward.

[Anonymous Coward]

If we really are the evolved species we claim to be, we'll start caring less about squabbles on this blue marble and more about exploring the universe in which we live.

Speak for yourself, buddy. I'm a creationist.

Re:Let NASA make the decision

[halo8]

Mabey Nasa should change its name to Iraq.. lots of money beeing thrown there these days

Re:Jet fighters and Missle Defense

[athakur999]

The space program gave us Tang. Don't you forget that.

porn

[farnsworth]

Space travel, like all technology, will not become cost effective until the pornography industry adapts it as a sales channel.

That, and it really *is* silly that we send up so much oxygen and water with a lot of missions. Remote control is the future.

Re:Up is easy; down is harder

[Linguica]

Such a personal reentry vehicle has already been considered. In the 1960's General Electric drew up plans for just such a device, entitled MOOSE (Man Out of Space Easiest), which would have required an astronaut to slip inside a big, foam-filled plastic bag, float out of the spacecraft and fire thrusters attached to the bag to push it out of orbit.

Then, the astronaut would rely on a built-in heat shield to survive the fiery plunge through Earth's atmosphere and wait for a parachute to automatically deploy for a safe landing.

You can check out this out-there but admittedly cool idea at Space.com. I'm still waiting for it to be used in a major motion picture...

Re:The Budget Sucks

[tsa]

A billion a day keeps tha bad guys away.

Linear Accelerator

[Kintanon]

I'd say what we should do is get a mile long (Or 3 mile long, or 5 mile long, or however long it takes to get up to speed) linear acceleartor. We use it to launch material capsules into space for essentially nothing after the cost of construction. Then we make some remote controlled robots designed for constructing things in space. We launch them up the same way in big shock resistant containers that burst open and are then also used as building materials. Then we set the robots to work building us a superlight craft in space. Once the construction is complete we launch its payload via the L.A., the payload consistes of all of the equipment we can think of that would be useful for terraforming a small chunk of the moon or mars. Then we send the ship there, also remote controlled. Land it, remotely control the construction of a habitat, populate the habitat, continue to build ships with this method. Once we have 3 or 4 of them they can pretty much ferry back and forth between levels of earth orbit carrying supplies to the moon base. The moon base people work on finding water or raw materials on the moon. If we find water they set up a slow but steady method of converting it into fuel (hydrogen) if we find raw materials then we boost the water or hydrogen and they start setting up manufactoring facilities to create the materials for more ships. At some point we dismantle most of the freight carrying ships and rebuild them into one much larger ship designed to hold 200 or so people. We get those 200 or so people. In the meantime though we are now launching freighters out to mars to drop supplies down to the planet as well as robots, solar factories, anything we can think of that will help make a small piece of mars habitable. Once we've got a couple hundred people, a mars that is covered in supplies, and a very lage ship we set out for Mars establish a colony there and begin the research to make larger sections of it habitable as well as searching it for water/raw materials to use in constructing that habitat.
Now we build a few booster heavy tugs in orbit, find a convenient asteroid and pull it into orbit around Mars (or just land some miners on one of the Moons of mars) and start extracting raw materials from that to continue habitat constructions. This plan puts us well on our way to permanent residency on Mars, and I'd say it will take about 75 years to complete. If I were lucky I could see us land on Mars and establish that colony base before I die...

Kintanon

Re:Up is easy; down is harder

[orim]

Just attach some fins to the vehicle... like a dart. That would probably work.