Back to the Moon

starexplorer2001 writes "Space.com is reporting that NASA's planned trip back to the Moon isn't without a significant amount of science and technological innovation. Simply 'sponging off Apollo' won't do it. Among the issues: safer human spaceflight, lunar ice, sustainability, robotic scouting missions and more. This won't be easy."

Comments

It wasn't easy for Apollo either

[anim8]

"The Apollo program cost $25 billion, equivalent to about $125 billion in today's dollars."

[Source: http://www.waltercunningham.com/op_ed_0204.htm%5D

Some monetary reasons to return to the moon

[Ex-MislTech]

Helium-3 is a good reason to return to the moon .

It is theorized that there are over 1 million cubic tons,
with oil over $50 a barrel, and helium-3 then being worth
about 8 billion USD a ton, the total worth equalling 8,000 trillion USD .

It could smash the US deficit with 7,991 trillion USD to spare .

http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/

Also keep in mind most of the "other" moons have this as well .

Here are some photos of the reactor at the University of Wisconsin :

http://fti.neep.wisc.edu/iec/GeneralOpPics.htm

http://fti.neep.wisc.edu/iec/GeneralOpPicsII.htm

25 tons could power the US electrical needs for a year :

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/helium3_0006 30.html

I don't need to tell anyone that the US is the largest user of electricity on
the planet at present, and slated for massive growth .

The current immmigration bill sets aside for 100 - 200 million new citizens .

Kulcinski adds that, if it sold for $4 billion a metric ton, helium-3 would still be a
good energy value: "That's the equivalent of paying $28 a barrel for oil."

It will be a cold day in hell before we see oil at $28 a barrel again .....

So adjust the math accordingly ...

It becomes more viable with every passing day .

If we can make solar mining robots for the moon to process the soil, and
then use a mass driver to fling a projectile canister into lunar orbit for pick up.
Then a lunar orbit robotic satellite mass driver to fire it into earth geo-sync orbit .

Then have either a new space station, shuttle, or satellite prep it for re-entry
into the ocean for pick up much like the apollo capsules .

The robotic equipment could be tested here on earth prior to deployment on the moon .

It might be possible to make robots that could build it all via remote control, but
most likely we would initially need ppl to go to the moon to build the mass driver
and support facilities .

Building some or all of the support facilities underground would protect it to some
degree versus leaving it exposed on the surface .

At some future point 3HE+3HE fusion will be achieved and it will have zero nuetron emissions
and thus be truly clean as per the following link .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion#Criter ia_and_candidates_for_terrestrial_reactions

Hope for the future ...

Ex-MislTech