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Returning to the Moon
Topic Started: Feb 1 2010, 09:17 PM (945 Views)
John
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Determined
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Article Here

It seems that Bush's plan to return to the moon is eliminated. Instead of returning astronauts to the moon, they will focusing on newer rocket technology and investments. NASA has visited the moon of plenty of times, so I agree that there are other, more important stuff to concentrate on and other things to explore in space. What is your opinion?
Edited by John, Feb 1 2010, 09:28 PM.
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Moonface-ZNR
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If we've explored the moon why keep going back over and over. Surely it's more interesting to explore somewhere new and invest the money into that instead.
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Melancholic
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chiralism
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I have not read the article, but wasn't the ultimate goal of revisiting the moon establishing a base there from which missions deeper into space could be launched?

The science fiction nut in me is upset about the cancellation of an actual lunar base. :(

A more realistic path here is to hitch a ride on a space elevator. Investing in one of these would eliminate the need to burn silly amounts of fuel just to break free from the earth's gravitational field, since the launch would take place already in space.
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tiptopolive
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oh my, he's so gangsta
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I don't know how possible a space elevator really is, but I agree with Obama's basic premise that it's a better idea to research new technology before using the same old tech to make the same trip repeatedly. Also, as much as it pains my inner space cowboy to say it, now might not be the time to focus on space flight. Let the economy level out a little bit more first.
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Melancholic
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chiralism
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Well, what basically amounts to an anchored satellite with an elevator running up and down the link should be possible with today's technology. :P

Good point though. Maintaining a multi-billion dollar space program while there's still so much poverty in the world seems a bit megalomanic.
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tiptopolive
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oh my, he's so gangsta
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Melancholic
Feb 1 2010, 10:31 PM
Well, what basically amounts to an anchored satellite with an elevator running up and down the link should be possible with today's technology. :P
Really? That's awesome. I guess it's probably way too expensive to make though :P

Also, the idea of an actual elevator connecting the earth the moon...just sounds ridiculous xD
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Tariq
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Manned mission to Mars. :D
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GhostMasterz
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Instead of visiting a same thing for many times we can explore the other parts of the space like black holes and the stars and other interesting things.
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Eccentric Feline
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Like everyone else I don't really see the need to go somewhere we've already been with technology we've already used so much. Research and development for new ideas would be much wiser.

Somehow I doubt a space elevator is even possible, but it sounds pretty darn awesome. XD
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Melancholic
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GhostMasterz
Feb 2 2010, 04:21 AM
Instead of visiting a same thing for many times we can explore the other parts of the space like black holes and the stars and other interesting things.
Exploring stars? Unless the sun counts, the nearest possible star for us to explore is at 4.2 lightyears from earth. If we somehow managed to travel at speeds of 186,000 miles per second (!) it would still take us 4.2 years just to get there. Considering a modern day space shuttle's top speed is about 19,000 miles per hour the journey alone would take several lifetimes. The only way would be to have multiple generations of astronauts breed and raise their children aboard the vessel, most of the offspring not once venturing outside the shuttle during their lives. I doubt anyone would commit to that. And then they'd still need a way to haul enough oxygen and food supplies to last several decades.

Just putting in perspective how futile our efforts to conquer space really are. :P
Edited by Melancholic, Feb 2 2010, 12:14 PM.
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Jam.
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And i doubt too many people would jump at the idea of 'exploring' black holes.
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Delirium
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Melancholic
Feb 2 2010, 12:08 PM
Just putting in perspective how futile our efforts to conquer space really are. :P
Mass relays :o We just need to find some Protheans.
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tiptopolive
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oh my, he's so gangsta
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This is quasi on topic, but I watched a great movie about space/SETI recently, called Contact (with Jodi Foster). definitely recommend it for space geeks.

Also,
Quote:
 
And i doubt too many people would jump at the idea of 'exploring' black holes.
lol
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Knox`
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Melancholic
Feb 2 2010, 12:08 PM
GhostMasterz
Feb 2 2010, 04:21 AM
Instead of visiting a same thing for many times we can explore the other parts of the space like black holes and the stars and other interesting things.
Exploring stars? Unless the sun counts, the nearest possible star for us to explore is at 4.2 lightyears from earth. If we somehow managed to travel at speeds of 186,000 miles per second (!) it would still take us 4.2 years just to get there. Considering a modern day space shuttle's top speed is about 19,000 miles per hour the journey alone would take several lifetimes. The only way would be to have multiple generations of astronauts breed and raise their children aboard the vessel, most of the offspring not once venturing outside the shuttle during their lives. I doubt anyone would commit to that. And then they'd still need a way to haul enough oxygen and food supplies to last several decades.

Just putting in perspective how futile our efforts to conquer space really are. :P
Can I ask why on earth would we EXPLORE a black hole?
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Reid
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È una trappola!

Keep in mind that the space elevator would not be used to transport humans or anything like that (no, most definitely not, unless you have a death wish) so it's not an elevator in the sense that we know it. I think it is possible, but it will be interesting to try. As for its cost, it actually isn't quite as costly as one would think; doing rocket research is like 100x more expensive for NASA, so the good news is that it's an actual, tangible, attainable goal. Pretty neat stuff.
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