Japanese Robots to Take Over the Moon by 2020

Daily Tech ^ | June 1, 2010 | Jason Mick

[decimon]

Even as the U.S. begrudgingly watches it own 21st century Moon-landing aspirations fade into the sunset, other nations are more than happy to pick up the slack. We've already covered China and India's lunar ambitions extensively.

Now another Asian superpower is thirsting for the resources buried on Earth's largest natural satellite. According to a report in Japanese publication NODE, JAXA, Japan's space program, is looking to pour $2.2B USD into plans to put an army of robots (peaceful robots, of course) on the Moon.

[1rudeboy]

What could possibly go wrong?

[MrMarbles]

The USA will pay them off again not to show any of our moon landing sites, if they even exist.

[max americana]

>What could possibly go wrong?
*****

In Japanese: “Dave Bowman: Open the pod bay doors, HAL.

HAL: I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.

[Dayman]

They must be building a mechanical army to invade the moon’s hollow interior. Kind of fitting since the moon is also artificial.

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread30274/pg1

[GonzoGOP]

All your moon base now belong to us!

[RBW in PA]

What REALLY Caused The HAL-9000 Incident

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=709v6JgGSiU

[Last Dakotan]

You can do all sorts of neat things with a manufacturing and technological base. We had one ... once.

[GonzoGOP]

You can do all sorts of neat things with a manufacturing and technological base.

We used to train engineers as well. Now we have ethnic studies graduates. Community activists, sure, space explorers, not so much.

[Larry Lucido]

[Dayman]

The first person to put a mining operation on the moon could wind up being the first trillionaire. It's full of nickel.

[bmwcyle]

bttt

[Allegra]

Cool headline.

[catman67]

[GonzoGOP]

[andy58-in-nh]

In other news, Mothra battled Rodan today for supremacy of the skies over Tokyo, while thousands of identically-attired Japanese scientists looked and pointed in horror, lip-syncing in badly-fractured English as demure school girls in sailor suits took refuge in brightly-colored discotheques.

I'd suggest that back in 1964, such a scenario would have been far more believable than the proposition that by 2010, America would have effectively abandoned its space program.

[CalvaryJohn]

Oh, great. I can't wait for MXC broadcasts in 1/5 gravity!