Posted on 01/29/2012 9:30:10 AM PST by FreedomFighter1013
While Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has been mocked repeatedly by his chief rival, Mitt Romney, there is a compelling series of arguments to be made for returning to the moon, this time in the form of a permanent Lunar colony. Indeed, the Lunar colony idea had been articulated by President George W. Bush in 2004 and was based on solid research developed by many serious thinkers in the space community. It had also been ratified by 2 different congresses, in 2005 and 2008. In fact, the first lunar colony was planned in the mid-1960s, called ALSS (Apollo Logistics Support System) Lunar Base and was cancelled in 1968.
Nevertheless, the recent $5-plus trillion run up in our national debt over the last 3 years have made many people less expansive in their thinking when it comes to space exploration for exploration's sake, that is without a concrete, read: commercial, application. more here
(Excerpt) Read more at gregcontreras.blogspot.com ...
Met one of the astronauts at some point in time. He had an encased moonrock with him.
It was an exciting time.
Terribly embarrassed by Sputnik though.
Prizes are nothing new. Read David Sobel’s “Longitude”.
Not to be picky, but to equate the title incorporating a $50 billon dollar price tag with a colony on the moon is downright ludicrous.
From xkcd
I agree space exploration is a benefit. I do not believe that a proposal for colonization of the moon, i.e., establishing a ‘moon base’ during a Florida Primary (i.e., to the Space Coast Denizens) has met the mettle of a balanced consideration of pros and cons.....Sorry, I’m for Newt because he may be able to beat Romney, but take this proposal and surrounding issues for what they are worth at this particular time and place (FLORIDA).
WE should give it up and let the Chinese have the moon?
Who is it?
Nobody knows, or if they do, they are not telling.
The Japanese launched three satellites to orbit and photograph the moon in 2007. Google launched "Google Moon" shortly thereafter where you can view these unadulterated images.
In one particular spot, there appears to be some kind of mining operation going on... see the images as released by the Japanese Space Organization that took the pics and released them and shared them with Google.
Somebody is up there doing something.
One thing you could assume, that would make sense, is that a body like the moon would be a great place to mine asteroids, as they would strike and be easy to recover. The moon has no erosion, no rain or elements that can corrode recoverable resources - so a rare-element asteroid that crashed into the moon would be recoverable billions of years after it first struck.
So all of these images occur around craters, as if some valuable mining/recovery process is going on.
Don't believe it? Take a look. Look up the images by their coordinates on Google Moon or on the photos released by Japan's space agency.
Any explanations?
Also not to be picky. :^}
Totals of “LOST” USA Dollars Approximately $2.097 Billion on these two Money Pits, alone
We have naught to show for those fiascos. I would rather have given them to someone who actually delivered!
The bankruptcy of Solyndra, the solar powercompany that took $528 million in government loans, was “extremely unfortunate,” Steven Chu, the energy secretary, told lawmakers on Thursday. But he rejected a suggestion put forward by a Republican that he or his department should apologize.
Late Tuesday, House Democrats released an e-mail exchange between officials of the Office of Management and Budget on May 24, 2010, that suggested the second application was for $469 million. President Obama visited the factory on the next day, despite growing concerns about the company’s financial problems.
Can we do more from a moon base?
The next big step might be "Mary the astronaut had a baby girl". Of course, she named it Venus. If it was a boy, she was going to name it ......... ;_)
Hi, Ping!
I must be blind. I don’t see anything manmade in those youtube videos. Or extraterrestrial intelligent either.
Nations signed those UN treaties. If a private company managed to get to the moon who could stop it’s development?
Embargo moon minerals? Storm the launch facilities? The countries certainly couldn’t go to the moon.
we have our heads crammed way to far up our collective fundaments...
unless we get a ‘LEADER’ soon we will be the new 3rd world.
Space exploration and scientific endeavors are for advanced prosperous societies with an entrepreneurial spirit. We are not that country anymore.
Private companies will never get to the moon because the 1967 Treaty increases the risk that profits will not be realized. No sane investor will put money at risk. Compare what is in place now with what was in place when the US was building out railroads - times when the rate of capital formation was unmatched.
Private companies will never get to the moon because the 1967 Treaty increases the risk that profits will not be realized. No sane investor will put money at risk. Compare what is in place now with what was in place when the US was building out railroads - times when the rate of capital formation was unmatched.
Wrong. Time is lost. Irretrievably.
In 2004, Robert Bigelow offered a prize of $50 million to the first company to develop an Earth to low Earth orbit passenger vehicle (America's Space Prize). He needs routine access to LEO to service his inflatable commercial space stations.
The prize offer expired in 2010 without a single attempt at winning it.
Prizes are not panaceas, particularly if what is being attempted is just barely possible by government.
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