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

Moon Base Bush is pie in the sky

[Lexor]

The whole "back to the Moon" thing is a load of garbage.

The real target is Mars. There's nothing more to learn on the Moon (unless, of course, they're still hiding things from you and me, which, of course, the U.S. government seems to do as a matter of course).

Experts have long admitted that launching a mission to Mars from the Moon is far more difficult than doing it from here.

NASA has become the "Santa Claus" of the U.S. Government. Keep the children excited and maybe they'll think there really is a future, after all.

Re:Why Then Not Now?

[soft_guy]

Why was it possible to go to the moon in '69 but not possible now even using the same old technology? Has the moon/earth/atmostphere/space changed?

Because it was faked in 1969 - which doesn't explain why they can't just fake it again. Perhaps people are more used to CGI now?

People realise it was a fake and won't agree to spend the money on faking it again?

Because they had to murder Gus Crissom to keep him from exposing the truth and they think they might not be able to keep it covered up this time?

BTW - this is NOT a troll. Just because you disagree with someone doesn't make them a troll.

Re:It's not like they EVER landed there anyway!

[kitkatsavvy]

like where now - did i hear a hollywood studio! hey how come Neil Armstrong has NEVER given a real interview on how he "landed" on the moon? come ON you idiot! the government could tell you WHAT the damn hell it wants to tell you! they could have gotten lots of sand from anywhere - its the same basis as believing in religion - it's like - OH i believe in god JUST because all of these little books and priests told me its TRUE!

gawsh!

I might even be inclined to be sympathetic...

[jd]

...towards NASA, but they're sponging off the Indian space program, for chrissakes!

THAT is how our great, illustrius NASA is getting to the moon - by outsourcing the R&D and get low-paid foreigners to take all the risks. (Bet you 10:1 that almost all early next-gen manned lunar rockets are built and manned by India, with NASA only using their astronauts when India becomes expendable and the rocket has been constructed.)

I strongly urge all nations with space programs of their own to refuse to cooperate with the American space program unless treated with respect and as equals. I feel reasonably sure that many such programs could reach the moon without much trouble, with no help whatsoever from NASA, before NASA could reach the moon on their own. The more such programs do so, the better. If Russia, China, India and the ESA all get manned mission vehicles that outperform NASA's best at that time, maybe - just maybe - we will see greater cooperation and less nationalism. Total cooperation, total pursuit of technology (and not applause), total openness (none of this "ITAR stops us telling you why our spaceship rammed that satelite" b*shit), and we could see achievements in space taking an order of magnitude less time yet achieving an order of magnitude greater results.