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Will China Beat the United States Back to the Moon?
MarkWhittington writes "During an address on the space economy to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of the start of the space age, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin made the assertion that China would beat the United States back to the Moon. 'Americans will not like it, but they will just have to not like it. I think we will see, as we have seen with China's introductory manned space flights so far, we will see again that nations look up to other nations that appear to be at the top of the technical pyramid, and they want to do deals with those nations. It's one of the things that made us the world's greatest economic power. So I think we'll be reinstructed in that lesson in the coming years and I hope that Americans will take that instruction positively and react to it by investing in those things that are the leading edge of what's possible."'"
Get to the moon? They can't even make toys!
But I thought we just shot that first landing in a studio!
Damn conspiracy theorists.
...they've got all our money.
-- http://frobnosticate.com
You have to admit, red spaceships are going to be pretty cool.
In space, lead PROTECTS you!
"Knowledge is the only instrument of production that is not subject to diminishing returns" -Journal of Political Econom
They don't have to calculate everything in metric AND our system.
Hope is the currency of fools
Let's set the location of the 2050 Olympics to Tranquility Base. Any nations who want to participate had better start working out their transportation now. Also, kiss goodbye any existing records in high-jump, long jump, javelin, etc.
Great. Now we have to worry about deadly moon microbes in the pet food and toys.
Leave the gun, take the cannolis.
Since Branson and Virgin have spent millions of dollars to invest in their planned orbital trips and space hotels (in the very near future), I would presume they have done a great deal of such market research. Personally, I would not take such a space trip, because - like evolution - gravity is "only a theory". I wouldn't want to be up there in my space hotel and have it plummet back down to the earth! Not to mention, since the earth is flat, I would be worried we'd miss the edge of it on our return and be lost forever!
...All together now! SING! http://www.rathergood.com/moon_song/
China surely can build a spaceship much cheaper than the US. With similar success rate, it is more viable, and economically efficient for China to occupy the moon first. Them the US can just take it over like 100 years ago in a land called "new world".
My first reaction: What a pedantic bo... oh.
"It is our blasphemy which has made us great, and will sustain us, and which the gods secretly admire in us." - Zelazny
Two things significantly reduce the cost: We're not starting from scratch this time. A lot of the development work has already been done and the costs absorbed in other space missions and non-space inventions. Secondly, the reduction in bureaucracy.
First we let the Chinese go there. They'll be bringing a lot of paint and they'll be painting the whole thing red.
When they're finished, we'll land some guys with a couple buckets of white paint. They'll write on the red moon "Coca Cola".
We're all born with nothing.
If you die in debt, you're ahead.