ICEINSPACE
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Moon Phase
CURRENT MOON
Waning Gibbous 73.8%
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27-01-2012, 10:41 AM
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Not enough time and money
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 2,133
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Moon colony by 2020, yeah, right
Another day, another bizzar moment.
Newt Gingrich, proposed that, if the Americans elect him president, he will make a colony on the moon by 2020 
It gets better, he would also make the Moon the 51st State once the population reaches 13,000.
Is it April 1 already 
Bo
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27-01-2012, 10:56 AM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Adelaide, Australia
Posts: 1,581
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Maybe they could ask the Russians to send them there. 
At least they still have a launch system to put humans into space.
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27-01-2012, 11:58 AM
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Registered User
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Join Date: May 2011
Location: Perth, Australia
Posts: 242
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They might need extra booster rockets as the population would have doubled in size by then. 
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27-01-2012, 01:21 PM
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The Glenfallus
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Central Coast, NSW
Posts: 2,702
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Hopefully Newt will be one of the colonisers......that way, we would never hear from him again.
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27-01-2012, 01:47 PM
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Support your local RFS
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Join Date: May 2006
Location: Wamboin NSW
Posts: 12,405
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It would be nice to see it happen.
Sadly though it's just vote chasing and nothing more.
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30-01-2012, 08:02 PM
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Not enough time and money
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 2,133
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Being illegal hasn't stopped a recent war somewhere in the middle east...
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30-01-2012, 08:15 PM
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'ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha'
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Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Brisbane
Posts: 1,017
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I read a document recently that discussed how inadequate the laws surrounding Space were. The paper discussed how the laws need to be updated.
China seem keen to make their claim. It will be interesting to see if this creates another space race.
In my perfect world, a Moon Base would be supported and operated in a similar way to the International Space Station.
Last edited by Shark Bait; 30-01-2012 at 09:13 PM.
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30-01-2012, 08:55 PM
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Life is looking up!
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,017
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Quote:
Originally Posted by traveller
Being illegal hasn't stopped a recent war somewhere in the middle east...
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Good point!
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30-01-2012, 09:17 PM
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The 'DRAGON MAN'
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: In the Dark at Snake Valley, Victoria
Posts: 14,412
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My own personal belief is that no particular nation has any right to claim land or sovereignty anywhere in space.
Any claim on any unclaimed/uninhabited Moon/planet/asteroid etc or even region of space, needs to be made in the name of all the people of Planet Earth.
When it comes to space, there should be no 'Americans' or 'Russians' or 'Chinese' or 'Indians' etc.
In space we are Earthlings (or Terrans).
But it won't happen 
The problem is that because America is losing its status as the so called 'Policemen of the World', they want to establish themselves as the Policemen of Space. 
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30-01-2012, 09:48 PM
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Not enough time and money
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 2,133
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Agreed Ken, but I doubt the yanks can afford to become police anywhere in the next little while. Most of their foreign exchange reserves are now held by the Chinese.
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31-01-2012, 11:52 AM
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Ageing badly.
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: Cloudy, light-polluted Bribie Is.
Posts: 3,742
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What colossal arrogance - to declare that the US has the right to establish a colony AND to appropriate any portion of the moon at US territory. I find it difficult to grasp how anyone could actually formulate that as a serious item of a government's agenda (even in election mode).
Heaven preserve us from such people.
Peter
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31-01-2012, 03:37 PM
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Life is looking up!
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,017
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pmrid
What colossal arrogance - to declare that the US has the right to establish a colony AND to appropriate any portion of the moon at US territory. I find it difficult to grasp how anyone could actually formulate that as a serious item of a government's agenda (even in election mode).
Heaven preserve us from such people.
Peter
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It is just rhetoric, it will never happen. Just look at the debt America is in now, so where are they going to find the money for such a huge undertaking? Or, perhaps they could stop having wars.....nah, that ain't going to happen.
After all, "War" is natures way of teaching Americans geography! 
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31-01-2012, 04:24 PM
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Oh, I See You Are Empty!
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Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Laramie, WY - United States of America
Posts: 1,554
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Newt should review history before opening his mouth...
1) The Space Shuttle Program started in 1968
2) The first launch of the Shuttle was in 1980
2012 + 12 = 2024 at the earliest. Can they do it faster?
In the famous "tongue in cheek" motto of NASA...
"Better, Faster, Cheaper ............. Pick Two"
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07-02-2012, 09:05 AM
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Tech Guru
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Sydney
Posts: 2,888
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On a technical note - I remember reading that a major sun flare would have killed all the astronauts that did moon landings. Even doing the journey puts you at risk. US Scientists charted solar activity and time the landing for peak lows - and hoped no astronauts would die.
Their calucate odds were around 3-4% from recall. Basically a large flare directed towards the Earth / Moon would not be survivable if you didn't have planetary level magnetic shielding to stop high energy particles irradiating you.
I ponder could a deep underground base work - say 50-100 metres or more with large generators powering an E/M shield on the surface help? That would be plenty to stop protons from Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), cosmic rays - no so sure:
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news...n_solarflares/
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07-02-2012, 07:43 PM
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Canis Major, Canis Minor
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 98
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Matthew...I remember seeing this photo in the late 60's or early 70's after the astronauts got back from space...a cast of cosmic ray penetrations in a space helmet. http://www.sciencephoto.com/image/14...800_ti-SPL.jpg
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08-02-2012, 01:47 AM
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Ageing badly.
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: Cloudy, light-polluted Bribie Is.
Posts: 3,742
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Quote:
Originally Posted by g__day
On a technical note - I remember reading that a major sun flare would have killed all the astronauts that did moon landings. Even doing the journey puts you at risk. US Scientists charted solar activity and time the landing for peak lows - and hoped no astronauts would die.
Their calucate odds were around 3-4% from recall. Basically a large flare directed towards the Earth / Moon would not be survivable if you didn't have planetary level magnetic shielding to stop high energy particles irradiating you.
I ponder could a deep underground base work - say 50-100 metres or more with large generators powering an E/M shield on the surface help? That would be plenty to stop protons from Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), cosmic rays - no so sure:
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news...n_solarflares/ |
If not a buried base, then perhaps one either on the far side or in the polar regions where some craters are in permanent shadow. That was the thesis in one of Arthur Clarke's novels (Sun Storm) I think.
Peter
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09-02-2012, 10:58 AM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Sydney, Australia
Posts: 52
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pmrid
If not a buried base, then perhaps one either on the far side or in the polar regions where some craters are in permanent shadow.
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The polar regions would make sense. The far side would get as much sun as the near side though.
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