The Nobel Intent article ‘What if we made a moonbase and no one turned up?’ brings up some compelling thoughts. These include: Is the lack of budget increases from NASA going to affect the objectives of the program? Will building the moonbase divert funds from getting to Mars? Can we research the Mars voyage in low-earth orbit as opposed to on the moon?
NASA announced plans to work with other countries to put a permanent base on the moon by 2024. This raises an interesting question: Who owns the moon?
Apparently there’s a legal agreement called The Outer Space Treaty that says no one can own any part of space, including the moon. But I have to think that when that treaty got signed, no one expected NASA to build nerd condos on the moon’s South Pole, aka “the only good part.” As soon as space colonization becomes practical, that space treaty won’t sound like such a good idea to anyone. Read more
There has been a lot in the news about NASA’s proposed Mooncamp. Here are some links:
“NASA may be going to the same old moon with a ship that looks a lot like a 1960s Apollo capsule, but the space agency said Monday that it’s going to do something dramatically different this time: Stay there.” Forbes
“US space agency NASA has said it plans to start work on a permanently-occupied base on the Moon after astronauts begin flying back there in 2020. The base is likely to be built on one of the Moon’s poles and will serve as a science center and possible stepping stone for manned missions to Mars.” BBC
View Mooncamp Plans and Video - Here
Lockheed Martin and Boeing’s $2 billion Orion rocket-launch venture is expected to bring up to 700 high-paying jobs to the Denver area of Colorado, executives said Friday.When combined with new jobs from Lockheed’s recent $8.2 billion NASA contract to build a next-generation spacecraft, the new United Launch Alliance joint venture could vault Colorado’s private-sector aerospace work force into the No. 2 spot, behind California and ahead of Texas. Read more.
Go to any hobby shop, and model rocket kits line the shelves. Complete with instructions, building materials, even paint, these one-stop-shopping kits are a young rocket enthusiast’s dream. After a few hours of concentration and lots of glue, what was once a heap of tubes, plastic parts and miniature motors is now a rocket ready for launch.
Concept image of the Ares I crew launch vehicle For rocket scientists building NASA’s next generation launch vehicle systems, the Ares I crew launch vehicle and Ares V cargo launch vehicle, the job is not nearly as simple.
Building a rocket that can send humans and tens of thousands of pounds of cargo to space is no easy task. But it’s exactly what engineers are doing today in support of NASA’s exploration goals to send humans back to the moon and travel to Mars and destinations beyond. More
The most powerful radiotelescope yet devised is to be built on the Moon, under plans being put together by Nasa for its 2018 lunar mission.Mike Griffin, the head of the US space agency, said the construction of a telescope is being “factored into” the mission.
It is intended to push forward the exploration of space and, eventually, help to identify how mankind can reach other planets in and outside the solar system.
A radiotelescope on the Moon would offer astronomers and physicists an unrivalled opportunity to see farther into the cosmos than ever before and in more detail. More
