Ok daft question, I am nearly 50, will I ever stand on the moon(wearing my speedy)? So John Glen was 77 when he became the oldest man in Space. That gives me 27 years(edited, ha ha), 7 years to become a Billionaire, minimum 20 years to start a new space programme, not likey. Unless the Chinese are doing it secretly already which give me a bit longer to become a billionaire and bribe them, less likey. So if its not me when will be the next Moonwalk? Earliest I think 60 years since last one in 72, 2032! Will Mars come first? Think of the progress in 66 years between 1903, Wright brothers first plane, and Armstrong Moon walk 1969. Not much since Is it possible to crowd fund a space program or should we just sell of the merchandising rights up front?
Doesn't 77 - 50 give you 27 years, not 17? Plus there has been plenty of progress since 1969, just seemingly no hard push to get back to the moon. The technology available today and what we're doing with it is incredible relative to what was available in 1969.
I don't have it memorized but I think we won't even have a manned-spaceflight-worthy vehicle until early next decade. The precursor to the Crew Exploration Vehicle took an orbit around earth some time last year. I think I saw it on NasaTV. Supposedly we are going back to the moon before we go anywhere else. It seems a little anticlimactic, doesn't it. With big projects like that, it's always baby steps (or smaller). And it depends on who is in office, both President and Congress. According to your plan above, you could get into space with Elon Musk or Richard Branson in 7 years, once you become a billionaire. That's your best bet in my opinion. Have either of them announced plans for the moon? I'd say we've pretty much outsourced our space travel plans to them. Have you seen the youtube videos of SpaceX landing a rocket vertically on a floating platform in the sea? I consider that an amazing feat! Elon's making progress a LOT faster than NASA would, and it pains me to say that (at least 2 of my WRUW posts include my NASA shirt). Fun topic...
Technology is pushing forward at an alarming rate. Everything you buy today is outdated within 6 months or less. Computer hardware, chips in particular are doubling their power every 6 months I think (so don't hold me too it, but it is close). At 47 years of age with a 2 year old son, I firmly believe to see some sort of hyper travel developed and that may included the moon and beyond within my life time and his for sure. Since space travel is now being pushed by private interests, we can expect more innovation in different directions all at once. It may seem slow right now as all the space technology was controlled by the government and the private companies had to start from mostly scratch. But it will increase in speed as the desire to leave the confines of this planet have never waned. They only side stepped with a small speed bump in the beginning. Guess we will see.
Been there twice... not much to see actually And there was no pool nor bar! really boring destination
"Supposedly we are going back to the moon before we go anywhere else. It seems a little anticlimactic, doesn't it. With big projects like that, it's always baby steps (or smaller)" Anticlimatic to return to Moon after 50 years?? Baby steps?? I don't think so. This is the real thing. Not in 3D at your local cinema or video game.
If I had to bet money, I think the most likely entities to put people back on the Moon in the next decade would be (in order of likelihood) 1) China, and 2) a private company like SpaceX, Blue Orgin, Virgin Galactic etc. I don't see much point in NASA or even ESA putting people back on the Moon in the near future. Getting people to an asteroid and Mars are more worthy objectives for entities such as these that can build on the vast experience gained in the past.
Going back to the moon would be a good place to test technology we would plan to use on say Mars. Habitats need to be established and tested. Equipment needs to be delivered and used to see how it pans out. It could be a very good place for this kind of stuff. Besides, I would love to see what's happening on the dark side since our government doesn't seem to what to tell us. Not to mention a few other things that could use a new look over. OK, not saying it was Aliens, But it was Aliens.
not sure when or who the next man on the moon will be but last night I watched The Last Man on the Moon http://thelastmanonthemoon.com/ - it was encouraging to see how physically active Eugene Cernan (Mission Commander of Apollo 17 and last man on the moon) remains at 82 years old! A few things the documentary brought to light http://www.space.com/32079-five-surprises-last-man-on-moon.html IMO the documentary is worth the .99 cents to rent in iTunes..
I think we are a little over confident. Our record getting Space Shuttles up and down safely has been spotty at best. An argument has been made that we have lost the ability to go to the moon. Not saying we could not go back if we really wanted to, but we have lost the ability today to return to the moon. Going to the moon would require the creation of a lot of new technology we just don't have. We do not have a vehicle to take us there. All of that would need to be redeveloped, redesigned and problems re-solved. Getting back to the moon, I don't think, is the "slam dunk" many think it is. I think if we tried, we would gain a whole new level of respect of what was accomplished in the Apollo space program.
As I said earlier, the private companies have had to start from scratch again. I was doing more thinking and I would think it would be a necessary thing to set up base on the moon. Resources could potentially be stored there and shipped out as needed elsewhere. It would be first stop for the next part of the journey. Unmanned vessels could be carrying cargo into orbit and a vehicle from the moon could pick it up. But than I grew up on "SPACE 1999" as a kid and the thought of having a EAGLE as a runabout would be awesome. As companies work on hyper travel especially hyper planes, going into low orbit may become a relatively cheap affair on day. Guess I will have to stick around for the next 50 years or so just see it.
Unfortunately, I think manned space flight to Mars is a very long way off, if ever. The issue holding us back is the physical stress from the several months of space flight it would take to get to Mars, plus the time that would need to be spent under high pressure once there, followed by several more months returning home. If one remembers the history of the years leading up to 1969, both the USSR and USA conducted a number of animal experiments on short space flights before sending astronauts into earth orbit. They wanted to make sure that the extreme speeds (for the time) needed for escape velocity weren't going to cause damage to internal organs. As we now know, both the animals and humans passed that test. But Earth orbit missions last a few hours and trips to the Moon are only several days each way. They are finding some distressing physical changes to astronauts being sent to the International Space Station for periods up to a year. You can read about those changes here and on many other articles on web. Scott Kelly is an interesting case, since he has an identical twin brother (Mark, a former astronaut) that NASA used as a control subject. Until we solve these environmental issues, I see no point risking almost certain injury to the people involved. If solved, then manned missions to Mars would progress very quickly, as I think the propulsion technology is just about ready. gatorcpa
Everyone is barking up the wrong tree. I recently saw this thing on TV that ticks all the boxes. (I'm assuming that all TV is real, except the Kardashians.......)
I have had long conversations with my very smart daughter on this subject and she has convinced me - the Kardashians are very real.
Colonization of the moon and Mars are necessary to the survival of the human species. With the population pushing the limits of what this planet can support (we might even be past the tipping point), we need to migrate to other places. The problem is not developing the technology as humans always seem to rise to the occasion after some trial and error, it's who will make use of the technology. Keep in mind that science fiction ultimately becomes science fact so the elite might be the benefactors while the average Joe is left on a desolate and dying planet. Just some food for thought. And grammar corrections. Hell, I have hyperdrive on my Toyota so how hard can it be to install on a spacecraft with all that room?
