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Europe's Space Agency Wants To Do What NASA Can't

Posted by timothy on from the can-we-borrow-your-studio? dept.

coondoggie writes "The European Space Agency is moving forward with a plan to land an autonomous spacecraft on the moon by 2017, with the idea a manned vehicle could land there sometime in the future. It's a mission NASA had on its roadmap before the current budget debate, but such plans seem doomed now. The ESA is now seeking proposals for a lunar lander that would land on the south polar region of the Moon, which possible deposits of water ice, heavily cratered terrain, and long periods of sunlight make promising for explorers and scientists, the agency stated."

4 of 136 comments (clear)

  1. Wait, is it? Isn't it? Fucking hell... by LighterShadeOfBlack · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'm reasonably sure this isn't an April Fools. See story from the horse's mouth, dated 31st March.

    If it is an April Fools joke then the joke is ultimately on them. That something like this could be considered absurd would only highlight how incredibly pathetic space programmes have been for the last 30 years.

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  2. manned space exploration = fail by timmarhy · · Score: 5, Interesting
    how about we solve the cost issue of just getting into orbit, and work on alternative propolsion systems to get places faster before blowing our cookies over manned trips to the moon, which add NOTHING of scientific value and solve no problems.

    a manned trip to mars would be the only goal i could think of that would truely be worth the price tag for an achievement just to say we have done it (similar to why we went to the moon), with all our technology we are still yet to walk on another planet.

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    1. Re:manned space exploration = fail by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Imagine having hundreds of hubble-class telescopes actively scanning for mining targets worth $20,000B ea. requiring little to no propellant to harvest. Gravitational corridors exist that travel through the solar system that require minimal fuel. Materials science is close to being able to construct suitable solar sails capable of freely traveling the solar system. We're not quite where we need to be for moving to space, but it's a helluva lot closer than most people think.

    2. Re:manned space exploration = fail by DerekLyons · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Imagine having hundreds of hubble-class telescopes actively scanning for mining targets worth $20,000B ea. requiring little to no propellant to harvest.

      Why when it can be done from the surface of the Earth?
       

      Gravitational corridors exist that travel through the solar system that require minimal fuel.

      Sure, so long as you don't have anything resembling a deadline. (I.E. the savings in fuel for a manned mission would be completely obliterated by the increased life support requirements.)
       

      Materials science is close to being able to construct suitable solar sails capable of freely traveling the solar system.

      Solar sails *are* a cool technology - if you're a very small unmanned package with years and years to get where you're going. They pretty much suck, like the gravitational corridors, if you're a manned craft.
       

      We're not quite where we need to be for moving to space, but it's a helluva lot closer than most people think.

      That's probably because 'most people' are completely oblivious to the issue at all. Most of the rest of us aren't, but do know the difference between hand waving speculation and hard engineering.