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So we might get a moon base....
IceDigger - Jan 9, 2004

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  Pearl Jammzz Jan 10, 2004
ummmm, who is rod serling?

 Gallstaff Jan 10, 2004
I think he's that dude who does the christian childrens fund commercials

 Nadius Jan 10, 2004
rod sterling, the creator of the twilight zone, he also introduced the story for every episode.

 Pearl Jammzz Jan 10, 2004
oh...i guessI am too young

 it290 Jan 11, 2004
Never underestimate the power..... in the Twilight Zone.

 Curtis Jan 11, 2004
The moon (apparently) has an abundant supply of Helium-3. I'm not a scientist and I don't exactly know what Helium-3 is, but one would guess it a some kind of solid form of Helium.

Current speculation (I think) is that if fusion reaction is ever invented, the Helium 3 present on the moon could provide electricity for the planet for 1000's of years. Also, the moon is a much better place for launching spacecraft from - much less gravity. The technological spin offs from a new space race would be wonderful. Not least in the area's of alternative energies. A base on the moon may just provide the way to ween our planet of fuels based on age old dead things.

 Twillinx Jan 11, 2004
Hmm, won't a mooncity/moonbase be in for pretty high chances of a meteor strike? Of course that's when we send out Bruce Willis.

In 2001: A space Odyssey the moonbase was acctually put under ground. Is that the planning of this NASA moonbase aswell? I really hope I can be one of the furtunate who get my own monolith. And thats my idea for the moon; open my own moon zoo, where I place my monolith and a bunch of monkeys.

 IceDigger Jan 11, 2004
Just monkeys?

 Gallstaff Jan 11, 2004
They'd be space monkeys of course

 Lyzel Jan 11, 2004
You people are really sad. You take anything that sounds good so negative. If you always have your heads up your ass, that's how your life will always be.

For once, think on the positive side. Stop the politics. The idea sounds really awesome, doesn't it????

 Pearl Jammzz Jan 11, 2004
Woot Woot! "Mommy, I want one of THOSE for christmas!" *points to the space monkey zoo*

 VertigoXX Jan 11, 2004
Sorry for being a realist.

Thing is, if nobody speaks out and points out the reality of the situation, then the BA is acheiving their goal of distracting people FROM reality.

Yes, the idea of a base on the moon or a mission to Mars is a cool one, but not a plausible one in current times.

And anyone who tries to say that I'm being unamerican for saying this is the one in need of a rectal-cranial amputation. It is not only my right, but my DUTY as an American to question and criticize the actions of the government. Checks and balances. Without anyone to voice an oposing opinion, there would be nothing to stop our government from becoming the "Imperialist Monstrocity" that the majority of the world feels we are becoming.

 ratfish Jan 11, 2004
I like the techno/rave club idea.

 Lyzel Jan 11, 2004

  
	
	

		
		

			Originally posted by VertigoXX@Jan 11, 2004 @ 08:20 PM



 Sorry for being a realist.



Thing is, if nobody speaks out and points out the reality of the situation, then the BA is acheiving their goal of distracting people FROM reality.



Yes, the idea of a base on the moon or a mission to Mars is a cool one, but not a plausible one in current times.



And anyone who tries to say that I'm being unamerican for saying this is the one in need of a rectal-cranial amputation. It is not only my right, but my DUTY as an American to question and criticize the actions of the government. Checks and balances. Without anyone to voice an oposing opinion, there would be nothing to stop our government from becoming the "Imperialist Monstrocity" that the majority of the world feels we are becoming.


I disagree with your post. I believe that we have the technology. It is possible

to go to the moon, and mars. Man has already landed on the moon. Mars has had mars rover, lander, etc there right now.

If we never start, we will never finish? Just like how the computer industry started. Remember what we were 20 years ago? Did the world wide web existed?? We have come a long way now, right? That happened because we weren't sitting on our asses and doing nothing.

The same thing can happen here. We become smarter the more we try things out. We make things better and better every day with new technologies.

Well, this is my opinion.

Oh, did you noticed that not once did I mention the government above? Sorry, my life does not revolve around politics.

 Gallstaff Jan 11, 2004
Obviously it revolves around lolli pop wishes and candy cane dreams.

While this could lead to some technoligical advances, the base itself isnt gonna do jack directly. Further along down the road true something COULD happen, but nothing any of us would see before we're old and senile.

So what if we sent a rover to mars? Oh there used to be water on it... big deal? We got water down here and plenty of it, i'm afraid.

And because 20 years ago the compute rindustry picked up, you have it the other way around. We werent sitting on our asses BEFORE the internet. Now america is all obese and stuff cause no human interaction is necesary.

So to get back to your main point, it could lead to something important but chances are

A) funding runs out cause no one gives a shit

B) Nothing happens

C) We're all dead and rotting by the time anything of significance happens

D) or the small possibility that we find a pixolated people called the mooninites who are only interested in beer and porn

 Curtis Jan 12, 2004

  
	
	

		
		

			Originally posted by Lyzel@Jan 11, 2004 @ 02:01 PM



 I disagree with your post. I believe that we have the technology. It is possible 



to go to the moon, and mars. Man has already landed on the moon. Mars has had mars rover, lander, etc there right now.



If we never start, we will never finish? Just like how the computer industry started. Remember what we were 20 years ago? Did the world wide web existed?? We have come a long way now, right? That happened because we weren't sitting on our asses and doing nothing.



The same thing can happen here. We become smarter the more we try things out. We make things better and better every day with new technologies.



Well, this is my opinion.



Oh, did you noticed that not once did I mention the government above? Sorry, my life does not revolve around politics.


The US clearly does not have the technology. At least not for a manned Mars mission. Humans would be dead from radiation before they reached the planet, thanks to current shielding technology being too bulky.

Chemical rockets would be insufficient to get a suitably shielded craft on it's way in any reasonable time frame. Life support systems are inadequate for long term operations without any assiatance or chance for a "top up".

A whole raft of new technologies need to be invented for this to even be concieved, and throwing around a pile of money isn't going to instantly solve these problems.

If there is substance to what Bush (might) say, then it is very good news. But you really can't ignore the politics of the situation. The current President is facing an uncertain re-election campain. He is throwing all sorts of policies into the pot at the moment (jobs for people "illegally" entering the country, for example). This may be one of them and given your current economic situation and NASA's other commitments it seems unlikely to go anywhere fast.

That said, I really would like to see this one fly. A moon base is the coolest thing of all the cool ideas that I'm likely to see in my lifetime.

 VertigoXX Jan 12, 2004
The technology, while not here now, could be developed. The problem is that we don't have the money to fund the research necessary to develop the technology we would need to complete such a mission.

I'd love to see a new space race begin with our last major communist foe. (No, I don't count Cuba as communist, that is a dictatorship.) But I do not believe it is possible when we're spending billions upon billions to occupy small third world contries that don't want us there in the first place. And I don't want to see people allowing the idea of a new space race to distract them from why the idea was presented in the first place.

If I were to have an opportunity to start a business on the moon, I'd open a porn shop. Fact is, most of those who would first settle the moon would not have their families with them, IE: military guys with their wives thousands of miles away back on earth. Perfect market for a porn shop.

 Gallstaff Jan 12, 2004
Wait I'd open a plutonium powered net cafe so everyone could still get the earths best mind numbing trash thousands of miles away

 mtxblau Jan 12, 2004
We could move all our garbage there! I was always leery of the idea of shooting it straight to the sun. But hey, lets move our landfills to the moon!

We could excavate, and replace that weight with trash.

Or make it a radiation waste storage?

 it290 Jan 12, 2004
I think if we put all our garbage on the moon, it would create enough gravitational pull to seriously screw up the tide, or perhaps even sent the moon hurtling into the earth.

Anyway, I was listening to 'Talk of the Nation' about this earlier today, and one of the guests really made a good point: if the mission is to explore Mars and the moon, robots can do so much more efficiently and at a fraction of the price of sending a manned mission. So why send people at all?

EDIT: I didn't notice that you mentioned excavating and replacing the weight. But if you did that, what would you do with all the moon dirt that you dug up? Just fling it into space?

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