…by Europe and Russia?
Five years until the first probe hardly seems like a breakneck pace, but I take this more seriously than I do China. I suspect that the next president, whoever it is, will have to make some serious choices about US plans.
[Update a few minutes later]
…will cost tens of billions of rubles…
What? about five bucks? FH and a moon Dragon could probably do this for $150m?
Elon is not interested in the moon.
You haven’t paid attention Mark. He has already offered rides around the moon. He’s a businessman first. You pay the ticket, he’ll give you the ride.
The program will be carried out mostly as part of the Russian Federal Space Program for 2016-2025. Russia is also looking at developing space exploration plans for 2050 and beyond.
My plan would have first colonists on mars by 2025.
The program will be carried out mostly as part of the Russian Federal Space Program for 2016-2025. Russia is also looking at developing space exploration plans for 2050 and beyond.
My plan would have first colonists on mars by 2025.
Our Diplomat in Chief who views every problem as one solved by diplomacy and who is totally the best diplomat ever is getting worked over by Russia and China on yet another diplomatic front.
I am sure the commitments we make regarding cooperation in space are not hit by Obama’s credibility gap on other issues right? Oh, didn’t we back out on a Mars mission? Looks like we don’t need other issues to take a credibility and reliability hit.
I take none of it seriously. The political appetite for another Apollo isn’t there. When we have a growth market with at least a thousand fare-paying visitors to orbit per year, 10% of whom go on to make swingby loops around the Moon and back, then it’ll be time to start planning renewed exporation of the lunar surface.
I don’t see it particularly as a gov-to-gov issue so much as an ITAR issue. If ITAR rules prevent commercial agreements between US and Chinese (or Russian) companies; it will be a real hindrance in the ability of US New Space companies to win important contracts with the pseudo-companies from those countries that want to do commerce with US New Spacers. With much less of an export market, that leaves the US at a disadvantage and an opportunity for JAXA and ESA to undermine the New Spacers. Or in the best case, perhaps serve as the “middlemen” taking their percentage.
We still seems to be suffering from “vertically integrated” thinking in the mass media and particularly in the science media. In that anything having to do with space requires a NASA program that can only be administered, by NASA and for NASA. If NASA wants to put a base on the moon the obvious way forward is to have NASA let contracts to the commercial providers for the hardware and transport. NASA can supply the occupants and the mission objectives. But why more than that? Methinks the science media is populated by far too many people who’ve worked too long in the public sector and fail to really understand how the much larger private sector functions.
I meant to say “by NASA, of NASA and for NASA.”
We need to work on removing the “by and of” parts…
I suspect that the next president, whoever it is, will have to make some serious choices about US plans.
Stalin may be dead, but the appeal of centralized planning lives on in the darnedest places.
I suspect the serious choices will not be made by the President, Commissar, or any other government official.
I hope ESA and Russia check out the cold traps at the lunar south pole.