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Japanese Company Announces Long-Term Plan To Develop the Moon (arstechnica.com)
"On Wednesday, a Japanese company called ispace announced that it has two missions planned to the Moon within the next three years and that it has acquired ride-share launches on two Falcon 9 rockets to carry out those flights," reports Ars Technica. "The company's founder, Takeshi Hakamada, also said he has a long-term vision to have a city on the Moon visited by 10,000 people a year by 2040." From the report: The two missions ispace announced Wednesday are an orbiter launch in mid-2020 and a more complicated lander-and-rover mission a year later. Both will be secondary payloads on Falcon 9 rocket launches, being released by the rocket's second stage in geostationary transfer orbit. From there, they will proceed to the Moon under their own propulsive power.
During a teleconference with several reporters, Hakamada said the company hopes to demonstrate to potential customers the initial capability to deliver 30kg of payload to the lunar surface. But he also has longer-term plans that will allow it to serve customers seeking to reach the lunar surface with larger payloads. Plus, the company is developing the capability to mine ice from the lunar poles to convert the hydrogen and oxygen into rocket fuel. "Around 2030 we expect to begin developing propellant and sending it to spacecraft in space," Hakamada said. He hopes that by then, there will be several hundred people working on the Moon, or in lunar orbit, to support an industrial base. A decade later, by 2040, he envisions a city called "Moon Valley" on the lunar surface, with a diverse array of industries and thousands of visitors per year. "We believe we can establish such a world if we can actively develop our capability in the current speed," Hakamada said.
During a teleconference with several reporters, Hakamada said the company hopes to demonstrate to potential customers the initial capability to deliver 30kg of payload to the lunar surface. But he also has longer-term plans that will allow it to serve customers seeking to reach the lunar surface with larger payloads. Plus, the company is developing the capability to mine ice from the lunar poles to convert the hydrogen and oxygen into rocket fuel. "Around 2030 we expect to begin developing propellant and sending it to spacecraft in space," Hakamada said. He hopes that by then, there will be several hundred people working on the Moon, or in lunar orbit, to support an industrial base. A decade later, by 2040, he envisions a city called "Moon Valley" on the lunar surface, with a diverse array of industries and thousands of visitors per year. "We believe we can establish such a world if we can actively develop our capability in the current speed," Hakamada said.
If that means 10,000 people at once, and we assume the typical ratio of service staff versus tourists (not a safe bet, with automation, but it gives us a ceiling), that means a long-term population of 3,000 or 4,000. That's an appreciable colony, but I think calling it a "city" is a bit of a stretch.
How is the Riemann zeta function like Trump rallies? Both have an endless number of trivial zeros.
Lots of problems with this; not the least of which are the problems related to scarcity of an atmosphere and lack of stong magnetic field. I mean, how will they deal with gamma rays and bombardment by meteors? You're either getting your genes scrambled or your body turned to swiss cheese when it rains nickle. Who needs it?!
maybe they can sell t-shirts?
Long term plan. Prison. Guess how much fun everyone will have with Kavanaugh.
"Hakamada said the company hopes to demonstrate to potential customers the initial capability to deliver 30kg of payload to the lunar surface" You're going to need a lot more than 30 kilos to convince me, lunar coke dealers!
I have long-term plans to develop a sexual relationship with your mom
I'm your daddy now
Anime!
Child (loli) brides on the moon and happiness!
Desu?
Twelve years from now, we'll have a good laugh reading this archived slashdot discussion.
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
I guess the moon is fair game. Which means if you build a space army and overtake a private moon base there is not much anyone can do about it but build defenses. In hindsight it seems that Moon Patrol was a Japanese military training simulator ahead if its time.
Oh Space Nutters, don't change!
http://www.cnn.com/TECH/9705/2...
Japanese companies announce stuff like this like creimer announces his daily videos and security certifications. It's performance art, no one knows why they do it.
I think they should build a moon train instead of a fixed based. The problem with the moon is that it has extreme temperatures. The most comfortable place for humans would be in the twilight zone. A long train that remained in this zone could possibly be powered by solar/hydrogen-cell/nuclear. The train would not need to move very fast to stay in this zone. The moon has a ~27 day rotation. The further away from the equator the train is the slower the train would have to be. Probably just a few kilometers per/hour. 4 or 5 km/hr brisk walking speed. ...just pulling a number out of hat.
With gravity only be a 1/6 of earth, a maglev train might be the way to go.
Of course I am just dreaming from my armchair and I have no supported science without digging for it.
Have fun.
Of course! And you'll be able to have sex with electricity from space!
https://www.solarenspace.com/2...
Compete with illiterate it's instead of its!
But I got better
We have pretty silly definitions of a city, here in Germany, which date back to the middle ages.
But India’s definition of calling a place ot 500,000 people a "village" is also pretty nuts to us. ^^
You're right tough. They likely wanted to boast a bit.
By the way: Does that Japanese company maybe belong to that one rich person that recently booked a flight around the moon on "The Musk" (by Elon "uncanny valley between human an psychopathic robot" Musk)? (And now you know why I posted this anonymously. ;)
I love stuff like the moon!
Von Braun City
Also I wonder if they will just put robots with rock launchers to kill all anime haters.
How We Could Build a Moon Base TODAY
https://youtu.be/NtQkz0aRDe8
On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.
America put a flag on the moon first and that maked it our'n by interplanetary law and divine right o' kings. Back off, Japan.
The moon is the harshest mistress
No one can hear you scream in space!
I tend to rant.
We need to use resources and funds to go forward on earth preservation, not to go destroying moon (neither mars...).
As a Japanese people, he could by example fund thermal insulation of houses and buildings, this is the kind of action we need actually.
-- Laurent Pointal
At about >1 MeV the half value layer of many rocks is in the between 10 and 20 cm , so by 10 half value layer (about 1 to 2 meter) of earth rocks , you get 1/1024 of the original radiation. 1 meter or so is not far far underground. See for example El-Taher, Mahmour, Abbady 2007 (Indian journal pure and applied physic).
OK regolithe is about 60% the density of what they tested but even assuming an exponential model or even go conservative and have the HVL to be 1 meter (!), you still won't need to be that far underground to get only 0.1% of the radiation.
C. Sagan : A demon haunted world:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345409469/
visit randi.org
suck it trebek
Haven't the Japanese learned a thing about space since the 1950s?
E Proelio Veritas.
Only the very richest people on the planet will be able to afford the energy cost of travelling to the moon. I certainly hope by 2040 there won't be 10,000 people who can afford this on their own. Ideally none should.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
Haven't we seen this a few dozen times already? Mission to mars! Sign up now! Investors click here for a great opportunity!
All your base are belong to us
The next thing you know they'll be storing dangerous nuclear waste on the moon... and then...
GOODBYE MOON!
Yeah, let's go to the moon because there is so much to do on the Moon. A vacation for the absolute wealthiest in the world to venture to a Barron place like the Moon. Establishing a base on the Moon for tourism would be very expensive, you have to provide a lot of service to sustain people on a place like the Moon. The logistics would be more of a nightmare then the Space station and they only have to care for a handful of people at a time. If only the dreamers would focus more of really important space exploration then a tourist trap for the rich.
Seriously, what has changed since Apollo 17 ? If you want an expensive holiday filled with danger then 2 weeks in Kabul is much closer.
More Outlandish claims. A city on the moon by 2040? Bullshit. I knew that was bull the instant I heard it just as I did when I heard Bush announce the "Constellation" project.
We COULD and SHOULD go back and seriously start manufacturing and mining it. But the fact is, after several decades of DEBATE, we haven't even sent robots back to start auto mining or producing even bricks.
I wonder what the moon in the sky would look like fully developed.
Yeah, let's go to the moon because there is so much to do on the Moon. A vacation for the absolute wealthiest in the world to venture to a Barron place like the Moon. Establishing a base on the Moon for tourism would be very expensive, you have to provide a lot of service to sustain people on a place like the Moon. The logistics would be more of a nightmare then the Space station and they only have to care for a handful of people at a time. If only the dreamers would focus more of really important space exploration then a tourist trap for the rich.
The moon is a harsh mistress ...
I announce my company will develop the moon as well.
ispace? Is-piss?
I have long-term plans to develop a sexual relationship with Jenna Coleman.
I have a better chance.
(Although this is currently voted down -1:)
First - good choice.
Second - you are correct sir (or madame)! You do have a much better chance than this project does of succeeding.
Starships were meant to fly, Hands up and touch the sky - Nicky Minaj
There are islands in Japan where the population is dying off.
It would be much better and cheaper to just develop one of those.
Gotta start building a defense against the Gamelons sometime.
republicans , in a generation they wouldn'yt be...
At least we know about spacing with commas, we can spell, and many of us, being as independent as possible, know how to fix lots of things. You snowflakes would all be dead in a couple of weeks or less.
ha , if it aint in your bible then you don't believe it.
First we have to get there.... develop the moon my ass
For this reason, God sends them a powerful delusion(operation of wandering)(planet) so they will believe the lie
https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipns/QmRjnvwZFj8bWba3HHKo7pnLm5kep4nvQepMcM1eejzgsn
N/T
They're saying what I've been saying for years now, and I have no doubt they'll actually do it, and it'll be awesome. Talk about helping evolve our species! Moving out onto Earth's Moon is the first step towards moving out into our solar system, and from there, who knows?
About 30 years ago or so, that humans would return to the moon, colonize it and develop it - but they in all likelihood they would be speaking Chinese or Russian. (well this is a Japanese company - but his prediction looks like it was pretty accurate on the whole).
There is no God, and Dirac is his prophet.
Space Force just found its first contract.
Or there's no point in trying.
As I remember, in that book there was a Japanese version of a Libertarian colony at a Lagrange point- in which the only legal right was the right to die. Requesting that right was easy and swiftly delivered by drone.
SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
So the plan is to go from a large potted plant to 10,000 people in 19 years? Uh huh.
I love space, don't get me wrong, but until we get some sort of Star Trek anti-gravity solution, Space will always difficult to work in, period.
Disagree, I don't care, fight me, space is hard, very very hard to work in.