Obama Abandons Moon Base

[amicus]

This is old news of course, but between weeding a garden and sipping a cool one, the Science Channel is rebroadcasting “Base Camp Moon” original air date 05/07/07...

As I watch this program again, I am reminded of the decade long construction of an intellectual and engineering foundation to create a Moon Base program that has now been lost, and my anger at this myopic administration erupted all over again.

It is not so much concern for NASA, a government agency, but for the hopes and dreams of all mankind….to use a colloquialism…that this administration has all but destroyed. One does wonder how long it will take when a rational and forward looking government is elected before the nation can get back on track again.

http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/3264/obama-abandons-plan-return-moon

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17052-nasa-may-abandon-plans-for-moon-base.html

http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/59356...ust-handed-the-moon-to-china-conquer-military

http://marketclues.blogspot.com/2010/01/obama-abandons-plans-for-nasa-moon-base.html

Amicus...

 

[TE999]

But...but...ami, don't you understand it's better to build a workers paradise right here in the good ol' US of A than spend all that tax money to go puttering off to the moon?

When everyone in America has been housed, heated, cooled, fed, clothed, had medical treatment, is employed in a federal factory and cries "Three cheers for Washington DC and our glorious leaders" maybe China, Russia, India and Iran will let us visit their moon bases.

 

[amicus]

Those 'workers paradises' have never been able to even produce enough toilet paper to wipe their noses with TE, nor will they ever.

There was another Science Channel program that listed the benefits of living in zero gravity, I was amazed at the amount of earth useful technology to come out of the space program. Including, I might add, medical procedures and materials that are saving lives on earth today.

I would like to rational look to the private market place to pick up the torch of exploration, but I suspect it would take as long to get a permit to launch as it does to do the paperwork for a Nuclear power plant, or longer.

Like the royalties the F'ing Federal Government extorts from the oil companies; were private enterprise to begin mining the Asteroid belt the F'ing government would want a royalty on that too.

Mo'fo's!

Amicus....

 

[TxRad]

Your beloved Moon base was abandoned when your fair haired boy spent all the money going to war instead of taking care of business at home.

 

[xssve]

And cleaning up after the derivatives party - anything left after that will be needed to clean up after the BP.

 

[bronzeage]

Your beloved Moon base was abandoned when your fair haired boy spent all the money going to war instead of taking care of business at home.

God save us from the little boys who wanted to be astronauts when they grew up.

I wish someone could tell me what is on the moon, that we don't have here on Earth?

We went to the moon and found a lot of sand and rock.

Columbus did not give a fuck about discovering new lands. He wanted to be rich. He was looking for money and shipwrecked on America. Lucky bastard.

Hindsight and foresight are funny things. There was a time when deep sea exploration was considered as glamorous as space flight. We chose to go to the moon, not because it was easy, but because it was easier than going to the bottom of the sea.

If we had used our Apollo project brains and money to explore deep ocean depths, today, we might have the technology to plug a mile deep hole in the oil reserve.

20/20 hindsight.

 

[TxRad]

I wish someone could tell me what is on the moon, that we don't have here on Earth?

20/20 hindsight.

one sixth gravity. Space exploration was to be a stepping stone operation. Space station, moon, and then out to the asteroids and other planets.

Anyway the moon is covered with dust but it is not made up of dust. It is a large chunk of the earths crust in ball form. All the light materials from earth are there.

Hindsight is always 20/20

 

[bronzeage]

one sixth gravity. Space exploration was to be a stepping stone operation. Space station, moon, and then out to the asteroids and other planets.

Anyway the moon is covered with dust but it is not made up of dust. It is a large chunk of the earths crust in ball form. All the light materials from earth are there.

Hindsight is always 20/20

One good result of the moon project was a realistic projection of space travel. It is possible that a year or more in zero gravity may cripple a human body to the point that functioning on a planet is almost impossible.

It may turn out that space is no different than the Earth's oceans. We can play around the shore and the surface, but deep inside is off limits to anyone who wants to return.

 

[TxRad]

One good result of the moon project was a realistic projection of space travel. It is possible that a year or more in zero gravity may cripple a human body to the point that functioning on a planet is almost impossible.

It may turn out that space is no different than the Earth's oceans. We can play around the shore and the surface, but deep inside is off limits to anyone who wants to return.

Space medicine has come a long ways and centrifugal force sections on ships to simulate gravity are getting more advanced as the design concepts go on.

Space, the ocean. One wants to explode you and the other wants to crush you. Thankfully most people seem to prefer the happy middle ground.

But there will always be dreams who want to venture out, one way or the other.