Next US moon landing will be by private companies, not NASA

AP ^ | 11/29/2018 | MARCIA DUNN

[amorphous]

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced Thursday that nine U.S. companies will compete to deliver experiments to the lunar surface. The space agency will buy the service and let private industry work out the details on getting there, he said.

The goal is to get small science and technology experiments to the surface of the moon as soon as possible. The first flight could be next year; 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the first manned moon landing.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Private companies want to replace government, so it makes sense.

[faithhopecharity]

what do they want to hide on the moon?
Google spy-data bases (about all of us)
or
another Amazon warehouse
or
maybe Obama’s real birth certificate?

[snoringbear]

Won’t have to air condition the data warehouses.....

[amorphous]

I'm sure Google will find a way to make a profit.

[Colorado Doug]

Why does NASA even still exist? They seem to have lost the ability to take us to space yet we still spend billions on the once great, has been agency.

[a fool in paradise]

We’ll subsidize it but we won’t own it

[Huskrrrr]

Salvage some of that cool junk left behind. eBay!

[JoSixChip]

Why does NASA even still exist?

Globull warming and mooslem outreach.

[Disambiguator]

There should be a “Buy N Large” sign there too.

[tomkat]

Won’t have to air condition the data warehouses..... but only on the dark side, they'd fry on our side.

[Monty22002]

Insight landing this week proves you wrong. NASA will have a role in space, but they may not be the leaders during the 2020-2030’s

[Paal Gulli]

I’ve been saying for the last 25 years that the next footprints on the moon would be from the Dr Scholl’s sandals worn by a tourist who got there in a Burt Rutan-designed rocket.

[Monty22002]

I don’t think it’ll be Virgin Galactic. Much more lucky that Blue Origin or SpaceX gets the landing first.

[amorphous]

Burt’s a genius engineer alright, and one of my longtime heroes.

[faithhopecharity]

Super!

[faithhopecharity]

Fer sure. !!

[Rebelbase]

Costco sending a rocket?

[Paladin2]

Any Muzzie experiments?

Transgender experiments?

Gorebal Warning experiments?

[amorphous]

Something that shocked me, in reference to the Insight mission, is it's going to take a month to place the seismic instrument on the surface of Mars.

Okay, I'm sure they're going to have to wait for the self-driven mole to reach its maximum depth first, but a month to decide on a spot, and then lower the seismograph to the surface?

How many committee's must they go thru?