President Obama gives conspiracy theorists new fuel for the fire...

[Darren Dirt]

...little more than 40 years ago, astronauts descended the nine-rung ladder of the lunar module called Eagle, and allowed their feet to touch the dusty surface of the Earth's only Moon. This was the culmination of a daring and perilous gambit -- of an endeavor that pushed the boundaries of our knowledge, of our technological prowess, of our very capacity as human beings to solve problems. It wasn't just the greatest achievement in NASA's history -- it was one of the greatest achievements in human history.

...

Now, I understand that some believe that we should attempt a return to the surface of the Moon first, as previously planned. But I just have to say pretty bluntly here: We've been there before. Buzz has been there. There's a lot more of space to explore, and a lot more to learn when we do.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/16/science/space/16nasa_text.html?pagewanted=all

j/k (I think) ... but tbh astronomy buffs should read the full text of his speech anyway, I think, quite the team of writers he's got, he managed to smooth out quite a few sharp edges of the reality of this new future of NASA. We'll have a real-life federation yet!

[Mr. Analog]

If you follow me on Twitter you know my feelings are pretty much the same as Neil Armstrong's

If the USA pushes off development to go to Mars that's easily going to be three different administrations, now lets see how well the good ol' USA has fared on long term projects in the past 30 years... oops.

Bottom line, not only is low Earth orbit doomed already but long term manned space exploration is effectively in the dustbin. Why send a man instead of a robot? Because it's hard! (Did no one hear JFK way back then?)

In the mean time, they better translate the Hitchhiker's Guide into Russian and paint the Soyuz capsules yellow with black checkers.

[Mr. Analog]

Oh yeah, if I was in control I'd go right back to the original expansion plans of:
-Create LEO factories
-Create a Lagrange point between the Earth and the Moon
-Create a Moon Base
-Send a mission to orbit Mars
-Create a Mars Base (almost wrote Bars... yesh)
-Once you have a foothold there in space, head for the moons of Jupiter!

[Darren Dirt]

-Create a Moon Base

Already was one when they went up in '69. That's why we ain't going back.

Cuz we were warned.


:scared:

[Lazybones]

I actually prefer the idea of sending lots of remote robots... Looking at the humanoid ones that companies like Honda have built I see no reason not to just send a bunch of those to the moon and start shipping supplies.. Have them build an infrastructure their remotely...

Sure there is 3 second latency but given how much longer the latency is to Mars it doesn't seem that bad at all.

[Tom]

I do think though that not going back to the moon is a bad idea. The moon can be used as a fueling station, as well as a manufacturing facility at some point. Doing all the work down here and then getting it all up into orbit, and then going direct to mars is very inefficient.

[Darren Dirt]

I do think though that not going back to the moon is a bad idea. The moon can be used as a fueling station, as well as a manufacturing facility at some point. Doing all the work down here and then getting it all up into orbit, and then going direct to mars is very inefficient.

[Mr. Analog]

I follow a lot of the robotic exploration; trouble is no one gives a crap. Robots help us learn, people help us inspire.

[Tom]

I dunno, the two rovers on mars got quite a bit of attention. Mostly due to how they keep going and going and going and going...

[Mr. Analog]

I dunno, the two rovers on mars got quite a bit of attention. Mostly due to how they keep going and going and going and going...

Put a robot on Mars, only the geeks watch. Put a MAN on Mars I guarantee everyone will watch.

[Darren Dirt]

I dunno, the two rovers on mars got quite a bit of attention. Mostly due to how they keep going and going and going and going...

Put a robot on Mars, only the geeks watch. Put a smart, hot woman on Mars I guarantee everyone will watch.

FYP.

[Mr. Analog]

I dunno, the two rovers on mars got quite a bit of attention. Mostly due to how they keep going and going and going and going...

Put a robot on Mars, only the geeks watch. Put a smart, hot woman on Mars I guarantee everyone will watch.

FYP.

LOL