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Jeff Bezos Is Planning To Ship 'Several Metric Tons of Cargo' To the Moon (vice.com)

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin aerospace company is planning to send "several metric tons" of unspecified cargo to the Moon in the next five years. The company reportedly signed a letter of intent with Germany aerospace companies OHB Space Systems and Security and MT Aerospace at the 69th annual International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Germany on Tuesday. The OHB dubbed the lunar project the "Blue Moon" mission in a press release. Motherboard reports: It's not clear exactly what cargo the Blue Moon mission would transport, but it likely includes infrastructure designed to start private business on the Moon: The IAC also detailed the launch of the "Moon Race," a competition between Blue Origin, Airbus Air and Space, and other space agencies around the world to develop technology that will bring companies around the world to the Moon. According to a press release, the competition could involve manufacturing products and technology, manufacturing energy sources for humans to survive, getting access to water and sustaining biological life, such as plant or agricultural life -- all on the Moon. Blue Origin said in a press release that both the Blue Moon mission and Moon Race are in line with its goal to "land large payloads on the Moon that can access and utilize the resources found there."

108 comments

  1. He doesn't know what the cargo is yet by AmiMoJo · · Score: 5, Funny

    Bezos just wants to be ready for the first Amazon Prime shipment to the moon. 2 day shipping will be a bit of a challenge.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    1. Re:He doesn't know what the cargo is yet by NoNonAlphaCharsHere · · Score: 1, Offtopic

      He'll subcontract out the actual delivery, at $6.35/hr. And the subcontractors will have to supply and use their own vehicle. And they have to make 62 other stops, all around the solar system in the same day, or pay a performance penalty.

    2. Re:He doesn't know what the cargo is yet by Teun · · Score: 0

      That's why he is going to build a local warehouse, even one day delivers will be possible.

      --
      "The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
    3. Re:He doesn't know what the cargo is yet by Zocalo · · Score: 1

      Oh yes, I can see it now. The colonists arrive expecting to find their Amazon Prime delivery of several metric tons of habit construction materials, food, water, and so on waiting for them, but instead get a little card apologizing for being unable to deliver on account of there being no one available to sign for it.

      --
      UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
    4. Re:He doesn't know what the cargo is yet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bezos just wants to be ready for the first Amazon Prime shipment to the moon. 2 day shipping will be a bit of a challenge.

      Approx. 250,000 miles to the moon. Escape velocity is 25,000 miles per hour, so, you should be able to get to the moon in 10 hours.

    5. Re:He doesn't know what the cargo is yet by bobbied · · Score: 2

      Bezos just wants to be ready for the first Amazon Prime shipment to the moon. 2 day shipping will be a bit of a challenge.

      He will just subcontract the delivery to Space X..

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    6. Re:He doesn't know what the cargo is yet by rossdee · · Score: 2

      I guess you got an F in astrophysics

      If you start out at 25,000 mph you will escape earths gravity, but you will use up most of that velocity in doing so.
      I think low orbit speed is about 17,000 MPH
      and from there you have to accelerate with whatever fuel you have carried with you.

      And then of course slow down when you reach the moon. Sorry theres no atmosphere to use as a brake.

      I think the apollo missions had 4 day transit times, you're not going to do much better than that with chemical rockets.

    7. Re: He doesn't know what the cargo is yet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Its parts for Moon Base Alpha!

    8. Re:He doesn't know what the cargo is yet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No no, this has nothing to do with Prime.

      Holy shit, does no one else see it?
      He is LITERALLY Dr. Evil and he's building a moon base!!!

      *Goes searching for pictures of Bezos with cats*

    9. Re:He doesn't know what the cargo is yet by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      Bezos just wants to be ready for the first Amazon Prime shipment to the moon. 2 day shipping will be a bit of a challenge.

      Let’s see UPS try to throw THIS package...

    10. Re:He doesn't know what the cargo is yet by DarthVain · · Score: 1

      It's all relative... ba boom tish!

    11. Re:He doesn't know what the cargo is yet by Gabest · · Score: 1

      Going from orbiting Earth to the Moon is different then shooting a rocket straight towards it.

  2. "unspecified cargo"? by 21st+Century+Peon · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm assuming it'll mostly be union organisers.

    --
    "Knowledge, sir, should be free to all!"
    ~Harcourt Fenton Mudd
    1. Re:"unspecified cargo"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Stuffed in the container tightly by Amazon staffers connected to union activities by a Facebook query.

    2. Re:"unspecified cargo"? by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 4, Funny

      And Alice Kramden

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
    3. Re:"unspecified cargo"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Or Amazon's financial information:

      "The letter of the law says we have to allow the tax man access to our accounts information to fulfil our legal obligations and we've told him exactly where they are and the access code but he's not bothered to audit them, so it's not OUR fault if you think we're not paying enough tax, we did try and work with the tax authorities. It's governments fault for not making sure that legislation explicitly states tax records must be held on Earth. They should change the law if they don't like it because we're simply doing what our shareholders would want and following the letter of the law!"

    4. Re:"unspecified cargo"? by Teun · · Score: 0

      Provide e decent contract and no-one will look for help by a union.

      --
      "The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
    5. Re:"unspecified cargo"? by peteypooh · · Score: 1

      My goodness that was funny. I wish I had mod points, even though you posted AC.

    6. Re:"unspecified cargo"? by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 1

      Or all the garbage he couldn't sell

      --
      Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
    7. Re:"unspecified cargo"? by Nidi62 · · Score: 2

      I'm assuming it'll mostly be union organisers.

      The whalers on the moon probably ordered another shipment of harpoons.

      --
      The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
    8. Re:"unspecified cargo"? by Teun · · Score: 0

      Oh my, it seems APK has mod points :)

      --
      "The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
    9. Re:"unspecified cargo"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually it will include:
      - One white fluffy cat
      - One pinky ring
      - One replica of himself, 50% size

    10. Re:"unspecified cargo"? by istartedi · · Score: 1

      Pressed for a specific date, Bezos replied "one of these days".

      --
      For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
  3. Seeing a lot of talk about lunar flights by sheramil · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Talk is cheap, guys. I'd be interested to see, in ten years' time, how many, if any, of these fantasies get carried out.

    1. Re:Seeing a lot of talk about lunar flights by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Talk is cheap, guys. I'd be interested to see, in ten years' time, how many, if any, of these fantasies get carried out.

      Because only if the fantasy contains "Elon" it's not a fantasy?

    2. Re:Seeing a lot of talk about lunar flights by Teun · · Score: 2

      Yeah, what struck me is he/they plan on shipping metric tons, in the end they will probably just be archaic US short tons.

      --
      "The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
    3. Re:Seeing a lot of talk about lunar flights by SniffTheGlove · · Score: 1

      Has Blue Origin even got plans for a heavy launch vehicle. They have not really played with the Shepard yet much.

    4. Re:Seeing a lot of talk about lunar flights by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      your gay

    5. Re:Seeing a lot of talk about lunar flights by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Elon's business seems focused on filling a need. Putting satellites in space, possibly bringing astronauts to the ISS.

      What is on the moon? Nothing. We're not forming an earth colony there. Who's going to be able to afford to go? Very few. It seems very scifi to be honest.

    6. Re:Seeing a lot of talk about lunar flights by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd go more with "When Blue Origin can even get anything into orbit of Earth, and then demonstrate the ability to actually achieve the velocity necessary to reach the moon with any meaningful payload size, much less return..."

      At least SpaceX has a rocket capable of doing those, that has actually flown. Blue Origin is just a bunch of talk, and a few suborbital flights of a rocket that looks like a penis.

    7. Re:Seeing a lot of talk about lunar flights by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      your

      Your gay what? Or did you mean You're

    8. Re:Seeing a lot of talk about lunar flights by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 2

      Yeah, what struck me is he/they plan on shipping metric tons, in the end they will probably just be archaic US short tons.

      Excellent ... miles, quarts, and fathoms, used all over the moon, bwa ha ha!!!!!!

    9. Re:Seeing a lot of talk about lunar flights by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, like this guy:
      https://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=5700481&cid=47911901

      Hah ahahahha hahahaha!!! What an idiot. The capacity for self-delusion and uncritical fanboyism among nerds is hilarious! These are the same proud atheists that mock religious people for their irrational beliefs, but they're filled with their own set of nonsense ideas and worship of technology ...

      LOL

    10. Re:Seeing a lot of talk about lunar flights by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yea. the factory in flordia is coming online and they have plans for a larger rocket in the works.

  4. Is the 2-day lunar days? by sysrammer · · Score: 0

    I was wondering where all my deliveries went.

    --
    His ignorance covered the whole earth like a blanket, and there was hardly a hole in it anywhere. - Mark Twain
    1. Re:Is the 2-day lunar days? by mentil · · Score: 1

      They misread 'LOUISIANA' as 'LUNA'.

      --
      Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
  5. I'm not that interested by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Chances are most of the cargo will turn out to be trash (or soonish turn into trash, nearly same thing).

    I'd rather we pay China for the privilege than stash it on the moon.

  6. "Several metric tons" is not all that much. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Something like two Tesla Roadsters. Of course, landing on the moon takes a lot more fuel than crashing on the moon. But at least you don't need the fuel for escaping moon again. Best is if you can reuse all of the lander and don't need to send anything back.

    1. Re:"Several metric tons" is not all that much. by jfdavis668 · · Score: 1

      Seattle will pass a law requiring space ship recycling.

    2. Re:"Several metric tons" is not all that much. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Especially considering the cargo will weigh less on the moon.

    3. Re:"Several metric tons" is not all that much. by LordHighExecutioner · · Score: 1

      and Uber will start hiring drivers for moon rovers.

    4. Re:"Several metric tons" is not all that much. by jellomizer · · Score: 1

      I kinda hope it will be something more useful then Tesla. With Space X putting a Tesla in space, while a cool marketing was a complete waste of money. They could had at least worked with a university for some sort of scientific satellite (Or loaded the Tesla with sensors.).

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    5. Re: "Several metric tons" is not all that much. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey, its BLIS has been highly effective so far!

    6. Re:"Several metric tons" is not all that much. by MachineShedFred · · Score: 1

      It was a test flight, and the first one for that family of rockets, at that. There was a decent chance that it would have exploded on the pad destroying the payload. Most universities don't have loads of cash to waste on building experiments that potentially only gather data about the internal temperature of a rocket fuel explosion.

      They put a Tesla on there because it was more interesting than the usual chunk of tungsten that would be used for payload simulation on this type of mission.

      --
      Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
    7. Re:"Several metric tons" is not all that much. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I kinda hope it will be something more useful then Tesla. With Space X putting a Tesla in space, while a cool marketing was a complete waste of money. They could had at least worked with a university for some sort of scientific satellite (Or loaded the Tesla with sensors.).

      There are many good reasons why the Falcon Heavy launch didn't carry any significant cargo or sensors. Those reasons have been discussed to death elsewhere so I won't go into detail, but I suggest looking them up before criticising.

      Experimental rocket launches like that generally carry a "mass simulator" (aka a block of concrete), rather than any real payload. Using the car instead was actually a slick move. It was a massive publicity success for both SpaceX and Tesla -- the kind of media coverage they both got from it easily made it worth doing simply for that. It was also very clever in that it gave the general public a sense of what the rocket could actually do. Everyone knows how big and how heavy a car is, so putting one into space gives everyone a much better mental image of how big the rocket is and what it can do.

  7. Re: One shipping container... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm offended by your use of the n-word.

  8. Re: One shipping container... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm a member of the NAACP. It's bullshit that you get away with saying that.

  9. The real technological feat... by hydrodog · · Score: 2

    will be using quadcopters to deliver it.

  10. This Just In by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Amazon Returns To Be Sent to the Moon !

  11. Blue Origin Pivoting? by mentil · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Blue Origin of course has no near-term plans for Moon-launch capability, thus why they're courting other companies to develop this. However this got me thinking...
    SpaceX's plan is for other companies to develop the various tech which will be deployed to Mars, for habitats, fuel production, automated machinery et cetera. This makes me wonder if Blue Origin is planning on developing some of said equipment, and putting it on the Moon first, giving up on making heavy-lift rockets and pivoting to making interesting cargo to put in space.

    --
    Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
    1. Re:Blue Origin Pivoting? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Blue Origin hasn't even put a rocket into orbit yet, despite Bezos chasing Musk and claiming they're developing capability beyond the Falcon 9 Heavy for years...

    2. Re: Blue Origin Pivoting? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      NASA has chosen the BE-4. Too bad it uses single turbo thus requiring an interseal.

    3. Re: Blue Origin Pivoting? by painandgreed · · Score: 1

      NASA has chosen the BE-4. Too bad it uses single turbo thus requiring an interseal.

      ULA has chosen the BE-4 because Rocketdyne refuses to put in any of their own money on their own engine, which pretty much says they'll never even have a working prototype. Even the ULA is probably expecting more money to make the Vulcan a reality and might not put in any of their own money, probably dooming it to vaporware. This leaves SpaceX and Blue Origin as serious choices. However, since the Senate gets to decide how NASA spends money, we can't discount the SLS yet.

  12. regulations now! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Am I the only one being concerned about and abused by this and other companies going up there and doing what they like with no shame and taking ownership of land without asking anyone?

    Should'nt this be the time to regulate who can and cannot go to the moon and what can and cannot be done?

    1. Re:regulations now! by Computershack · · Score: 2

      No you're not. First thought that entered my mind was to take a photo of the next full moon to show your grandkids what it used to look like before we trashed it. Seems that not being content with trashing our own planet we're wanting to start to move out into space and trash that as well.

      --
      I only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't looking good either. - Scott Adams
    2. Re:regulations now! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Am I the only one being concerned about and abused by this and other companies going up there and doing what they like with no shame and taking ownership of land without asking anyone?

      Considering this is already happening down here in the earth, where companies and corps do everything they want, and take no responsibility at all, I think you're alone, pal...

  13. Re:Darn by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

    Earth resources, except oil, gas and coal, are not wasted. They simply go to a different place on the planet. The few metric tons that are in orbit or in outer space are not even a sand corn at a beach.

    --
    Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
  14. Amazon by religionofpeas · · Score: 0

    Just like Amazon shipments, it will be tossed on the driveway while the rocket speeds off into the distance.

  15. Firing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does the moon have firing position on the earth? Its weapons

  16. Yeah and NASA is focused on Mars by Crashmarik · · Score: 1

    I don't know if I should be upset they are concentrating on the pointless, or happy they won't be in the way of the people actually making space work.

  17. Reality Check by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Talk is cheap" says a /. poster...

  18. manufacturing energy sources for humans to survive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "...manufacturing energy sources for humans to survive"

    Survive in a bubble, not an issue.

  19. Nazis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The Nazis who fled to the dark side of the moon at the end of WWII will take anything they leave there and use it against us. Is Bezos in league with the lunar Nazis? (Does this count as fulfilling Godwin's law?)

  20. "letter of intent" = mere spin by sittingnut · · Score: 1

    why is media and slashdot falling for these corporate spin campaigns?
    this is not even a contract, no significant amount of money changed hands, it is a mere letter of intent for something, if serious, would take years to happen, but more likely never happen. main purpose of this is to create good press for amazon. but media and meta media, ignores all that, believes the corporate spin at face value.

  21. Metric crap-loads by Plumpaquatsch · · Score: 1

    Metric crap-loads is more like it.

    --
    Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
  22. Hope it's for a Prime customer by Bohnanza · · Score: 0

    Free shipping

    --

    -----

    Sorry, I'm only a 1336 h4x0r.

    1. Re:Hope it's for a Prime customer by bobbied · · Score: 1

      Free shipping

      Sure, but the cost of a Prime membership just went up by two orders of magnitude to make up for the shipping costs.

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
  23. Re:Darn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Send the excess population to the Moon, bang. Problem solved.

  24. Hydroponics by ZipK · · Score: 1

    Amazon Moon Pot is going to be AWESOME!

  25. We already lost the race to space itself... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    >"the 'Moon Race,' a competition between Blue Origin, Airbus Air and Space"

  26. First Moon Billboard by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Bit of Mylar film with Amazon printed on it 6 by 12 Metres or so, Staple two ends with a peg, and a telescoping rod to stretch it out

  27. Wasteful space exploration by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Iâ(TM)m seeing a lot of plans for wasteful space exploration of the moon. A twist on JFK words not because we should but because we can. We will see a race to populate the moon with junk and then simply abandon it. Mostly because itâ(TM)s become the only reachable space destination for these endeavors.

  28. Two moon-day shipping. by goombah99 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    that's 56 days earth time. I think he can do it.

    --
    Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
  29. Was a sci-fi movie before by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  30. Cash For Clunkers by gazelam · · Score: 1

    I know that it's been a few years since the federal government did this, but Jeff & Co. could start their own program up to get some polluters off the road and on to the moon.

  31. Functional Proof by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Lets see Blue Origin actually put mass into orbit first. All of the public launches that I have seen just touch "space" and come straight back down. Nothing approaching orbital velocities.

  32. Yes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And all of their packages began to be delivered by drones back in 2015. Megalomania much, Jeff?

  33. I wonder what the cargo is? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If it's all of creimer's ebooks, I'll start the gofundme right away!

  34. Smiley Boxes by Only+Time+Will+Tell · · Score: 2

    Awesome, now we're going to have smiley-face cardboard boxes polluting the moon.

  35. Orbital? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. He hasn’t even put anything into orbit yet. But we should all be leery of this. With the resources he has, he will probably eventually own both the earth and the moon.

  36. His Money... by Jerrry · · Score: 1

    He's probably planning to ship several tons of his money to the moon to keep it out of the hands of the tax collectors.

  37. Re:Darn by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 1

    In less than 100 years, localities will auction off the rights to rip open landfills and have robots sort it all for recycling.

    And we can already use bacteria to create hydrocarbons. Tailored ones are just some research away. When this happens, even oil won't be an issue, pollution from burning it aside. But that won't be for a hundred years or more anyway, and we will be well into renewable energy and genetic engineering. I doubt ground oil will ever be a problem.

    --
    (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
  38. Iron Sky by Zorro · · Score: 1

    Obviously he is establishing diplomatic relations with the Nazis on the Moon.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Sky

  39. New AWS region by lefthand2776 · · Score: 1

    AWS moon region confirmed!

  40. So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is where the new headquarters is going!

  41. Metric Tons by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Because it is space, you can't ship imperial tons, only metric tons.

  42. Why use METRIC tons though? by Hallux-F-Sinister · · Score: 1

    He should ship using the imperial, or standard ton. They’re 10% lighter! Think of the SAVINGS!

    --
    Our reign has gone on long enough. Indeed. Summon the meteors.
    1. Re:Why use METRIC tons though? by painandgreed · · Score: 1

      He should ship using the imperial, or standard ton. They’re 10% lighter! Think of the SAVINGS!

      Nope, the Imperial ton is 40 pounds heavier than the (metric) tonne. The "short ton" used by Americans is 10% lighter than the tonne.

    2. Re:Why use METRIC tons though? by Hallux-F-Sinister · · Score: 1

      Sorry, by imperial, I meant the one used in America. Different imperial, I suppose, as I've heard people refer to the ounces, pounds, and tons used here as "imperial" measure, but they could have been misusing it, and I've never had occasion to check before.

      But yeah, I meant short tons, the 2000 pound per each ton, (where a pound is 16 ounces, and an ounce is approximately 28 grams times 9.8m/s/s down*,) the one that is 2000/2200 (hence 10% lighter) of a metric one. I suppose the joke would have worked better if I'd said "American ton," but I didn't want to sound excessively ethnocentric. I had actually always thought these were synonymous, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_and_US_customary_measurement_systems) but maybe they're only based on the same thing, rather than being the same thing. Either way, this joke is, I think, dead as a door nail. Ah well.

      (* As an aside, before anyone asks, one ounce is NOT equivalent to 28 grams, or approximately... since an ounce is a unit of FORCE, and grams a unit of MASS, so in order to equivocate them properly, you have to acknowledge that the approximate equivalent of an ounce is roughly 28.35... grams times the force of gravity, and since I'm using grams, I phrased the acceleration due to the force of gravity in terms of m/s/s.)

      --
      Our reign has gone on long enough. Indeed. Summon the meteors.
  43. The real reason by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    He just wants to send Amazon's women to the moon.

  44. Didn't They get Told how to Spell Tonne in School? by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 1

    Ton : Imperial measurement. Ad hoc unit of weight based on the shin length of a medieval mole-rat.
    Tonne: 1000 kilograms. Based on big round numbers that divide nicely by other big round numbers.

    "Metric Ton"?

    --
    I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
  45. Re:One shipping container... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Office furniture and equipment, law books, and other supplies appropriate for the office of a new Supreme Court Judge. Just tell him there's some kegs and a few "drunk chicks" up there, he'll go willingly.

  46. worried by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    should we allow private companies to just start thowing poorly thought out garbage into the solar system?

  47. Packing Peanuts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Also, empty boxes, books that didn't sell, some hair conditioner, a flat tire...

    All the stuff that moon base people urgently need!

  48. Japan started it. by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

    Only after their announcement to go to the Moon and set up shop did the space race really get off the ground (see what I did there).

    Industrializing the Moon is an obvious strategy that should have been an extension of America's thrust (see what I did there) back in the 60s.

    The only reason JFK sent us to the Moon was to outperform the USSR.

    The only reason we're going back is to outperform Japan and a host of other countries.

    I don't know why in simple hell the Mars batshit crazy fanbois didn't choose the Moon as a beta site in the first goddam place.

    --
    It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    1. Re:Japan started it. by painandgreed · · Score: 1

      I don't know why in simple hell the Mars batshit crazy fanbois didn't choose the Moon as a beta site in the first goddam place.

      Because most of the "Mars batshit crazy fanbois" how far we actually are from being able to go to Mars and how much work is still needed to make that journey. I've looked at thing and asked people in lectures and giving interviews on the topic how long would it take to get to Mars with a manned mission once given Apollo level political buy in and budget, and the answer is 20-30 years. That time almost certainly involves testing many technologies in a moon fly by if not landing. Even Musk has said that a manned mars mission will cost 200-600 Billion, with his bets on closer to 600 Billion. That means you'd have to more than double the NASA budget and tell them to use the increase only on getting to Mars, and we'd get there in 30 years.

    2. Re:Japan started it. by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

      Yeah.

      Reminds me of when I was a little kid and first held my breath under water yelling, "Look Ma! I'm swimming!"

      Sure, it was progress, but I had a long way to go.

      --

      It's unfortunate, but necessary, that we lose lives and equipment, with budget-busting efforts, in order to learn enough to get on down the road.

      While I am very impressed with the space shuttle program and appreciate the lives of those lost to make advances, I'm totally goddam pissed that we gave up.

      And don't get me started on Waxahachie.

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
  49. IAC!? Shouldn't that be UAC? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oh, wait - that doesn't happen until Mars...

  50. Little is known about the Blue Moon Project by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    However, we can be sure that it will only come once.