More About The Moon
The Washington Post has more detail on the moon base that NASA is proposing.
The effort was presented as an unprecedented mission to learn about the moon and places beyond, as well as an integral part of a long-range plan to send astronauts to Mars. The moon settlement would ultimately be a way station for space travelers headed onward, and would provide not only a haven but also hydrogen and oxygen mined from the lunar surface to make water and rocket fuel.
NASA officials declined to put a price tag on what will clearly be an extremely expensive venture. But they said that with help from international partners and perhaps space businesses, the agency would have sufficient funds to undertake the plan without any dramatic infusion of new money.
If the project goes ahead as planned, it would return humans to the moon for the first time since 1972.
NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale said the agency met with hundreds of scientists, potential international partners and space businesses over the past year to discuss lunar options — most pressingly, whether the plan should be based around a series of sorties to the moon or a permanent outpost and later settlement. The conclusion, she said, was that an outpost would be the best both for science and to prepare for exploration deeper into space.
Scott Horowitz, chief of lunar exploration, said: "The lunar base will be a central theme in our going forward plan for going back to the moon in preparation to go to Mars and beyond. It's a very, very big decision, and it's one of the few where I've seen the scientific community and the engineering community actually agree on anything."
That's a big plus, I suspect. That and getting other nations and private businesses involved very early will help ensure that this project moves along quickly. However, the Post does mention the one thing that has been nagging at me about this as well. Congress may not be willing to fund it sufficiently. (The last moon program was cut short without finishing the planned missions. Because Congress cut the funds.)
UPDATE: About Congress cutting the funds. Not as the cut and paste comment spammers are trying to tell the story.
UPDATE: So far two commenters directed over here from Daou Report have been banned. I will continue to do so to people who cannot follow the comment policy.
By Joe, Tuesday, 5 December , 2006 @ 12:26 pm
Also, the whole problem with the space shuttle was that the funding was cut, and therefore the final product was sub-standard. I hope, hope, hope, that the funding for this isn’t cut, or better yet, if private industry (like Bigelow Aerospace) step up to the plate. I also have a lot of hope that China will step up it’s program - nothing will get us going faster than the idea that the Chinese are on the moon!
By Don MacDonald, Tuesday, 5 December , 2006 @ 1:31 pm
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Care to pay attention to the comment policy and stop the name calling? You are banned.