NASA to return to the Moon

[Sikander]

ack!

[Sandman]

Originally posted by Proteus_MST
Only on the short term (considering that there will be only one mission to mars).
But on the long term (considering there will be multiple missions which can be refueled [with spaceships that can be used multiple times]) a moon base would be the less environmentally damaging, especially if you can get the base to sustain itself to a large degree (with food grown on the base and a large portion of the oxygen being regenerated) so that you don´t need constant supply runs for the base (and with a high level of automation, so that you need only a small crew there).
And of course, this base wouldn´t just be a refueling base, but would also be used for Astronomy (ideal for large telescopes which don´t have the limitations they have on earth because of its atmosphere) and to make scientific experiments in low G (something which also could be used to make money, by selling lab time on the moon base to private corporations ).

I doubt a moonbase with near-future tech would be able to sustain itself to any great degree. Especially if it's highly automated; it'll need constant supply runs of spare parts and new machinery. Not to mention crew turnovers.

As for a large telescopes, why not build them in space, rather than at the bottom of a gravity well? The view is just as good, and they'd be easier to build and maintain.

It'll cost an exorbitant amount. It would probably be cheaper to develop and build an anti-matter based interplanetary engine. The fuel could be synthesised on Earth (at great expense) but getting it into orbit would be fairly painless.

[Odin]

Originally posted by VJ
Sounds like a massive waste of taxpayers' money to me... is there really any reason to return there? What are they going to do once they're there, play football with large-massed rocks?

The money would be better spent on a manned Mars mission and on building new space telescopes, especially that huge interferometer they have on the drawing boards that would be able to see Earth-like planets.

[Eli]

We should scrap all the pure science missions and focus on building space infrastructure. When the infrastructure is up and running, we'll be able to do more science more cheaply.

[Q Classic]

Originally posted by Az
No blood for dilithium crystals!

You people are as cracked as those crystals!