One thought on “To The Moon?”

1. Trump should give NASA the mission of building a large-diameter rotating space station that could be spun at different speeds to simulate the effects of different levels of gravity. To avoid “scope creep” and excessive costs it should be designed solely to test the effects of different levels of gravity on the human body and to validate the design of life-support equipment for those conditions. The second function is an inevitable consequence of the first.

   The scientific and technological case for the “gravity wheel” is that this knowledge is extremely important to the future exploration of space. For example, if living under lunar gravity has similar effects to living under micro-gravity then that defines what exercise programs the inhabitants of a moon base must follow and how often the crew must be rotated. If those effects would happen on the moon but not Mars, it makes Mars a better environment for long-term settlement.

   The economic case is that knowing the answer to this question in advance will prevent costly mistakes.

   The political case is that it would probably cost less than a return to the moon and certainly less than a manned mission to Mars. It would take less time to develop and would allow the administration to claim that it was getting results fast. It would provide a mission for SLS and Orion, to launch the large components and transport the crews. I’m assuming that Trump’s campaign rhetoric about creating jobs makes it politically impossible to cancel SLS or Orion as too many jobs depend on them. It would be something new and attention-grabbing, and could be presented as an expression of American technological leadership and self-confidence. Its impact on the future direction of space exploration would also give the Trump administration a long-term legacy in space.

   What other project can you think of that would have the same combination of practical utility and political viability?

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