Why does no-one want a moon base?

[overlord (Charles)]

And furthermore, Why was Russia never interested in a moon mission? That's what I wanna know. Enquiring mind wants to know. They did everything else that USA did except for moon missions. Can someone shed some light on this moon mystey. For the record I believe that we DID go to the moon and any suggestion otherwise is ridiculous, but at the same time I KNOW deep in my heart that there is something utterly fishy about the whole thing but I can't place it. Any ideas? It was all cloaked in such secrecy and now it's all gone and done and it looks like USA will never return there. We are stuck on earth. In fact no-one wants a moon base. What is going on? We were supposed to make a moon base so we could get to Mars back in the 80s or 90s! I remember TV programs when I Was little which said as much.

ALSO, can someone out there start a space hotel or something. That in itself will do a lot more for future space tourism than any moon mission from NASA imo.

[acropolite (Phil)]

Why was Russia never interested in a moon mission

I watched a program I had taped just this evening, the Russians tried, apparently 17 missions but were unable to even get to the stage of having a man in orbit around the moon. If the doco is to be believed, there are plans to revisit that space program using the hardware developed by the Russians and funded by private enterprise, I seem to remember a suggested per seat price of $100 Million each. Space tourism already exists, at least one individual has paid for a ride to and stay on the ISS.

From Wikipedia

The publicized price for flights brokered by Space Adventures to the International Space Station aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft have been US$ 20–35 million, during the period 2001-2009. Some of space tourists have signed contracts with third parties to conduct certain research activities while in orbit.

[OICURMT]

Originally Posted by overlord

We were supposed to make a moon base so we could get to Mars back in the 80s or 90s! I remember TV programs when I Was little which said as much.

You might want to cast your eyes over http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budget_of_NASA

If you understand how to balance a budget (i.e. if you are alive and manage your own personal budget) you should be able to ascertain why we did not build a moon-base and go to Mars in the 1980's (read between the lines)... If you are fiscally irresponsible, please ignore the link, as it will make no sense to you.

OIC!
P.S. Between the lines = we lost interest....

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Russians were interested in going to the Moon.

The problem was all the crashes!
But not everything crashed. Some landed.
Here is an interesting link to a little bit of info about the Russian version of the Rovers called 'Lunokhod'.
http://vsm.host.ru/e_lunhod.htm

As for Russia not being interested, the Lunar missions were: (not counting the 3 failed Lunar Launches in 1958 and many in other years)
luna 1 (2-1-1959)
luna 2 (12-9-1959)
luna 3 (4-10-1959 )
luna 4 (2-4-1963)
zond 3 (9-6-1965)
luna 5 (9-5-1965)
luna 6 (8-6-1965)
luna 7 (4-10-1965)
luna 8 (3-12-1965)
luna 9 (9-28-1966)
luna 10 (3-31-1966)
luna 11(8-24-1966)
luna 12 (10-22-1966)
luna 13(12-12-1966)
zond 5 (9-15-1968)
luna 14 (4-7-1968)
luna 15 (7-3-1969)
zond 7 (8-7-1969)
luna 16 (9-12-1970)
zond 8 (10-20-1970 )
luna 17 (11-10-1970)
luna 18 (9-2-1971)
luna 19 (9-28-1971)
luna 20 (2-14-1971)
luna21 (1-8-1973)
luna 22 (6-2-1974)
luna 23(10-28-1974)
luna24(8-14-1976)
asia sat3/hgs-1(12-24-1997)

with Luna 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 13 known to have landed.

There was also a rumour floating around for a long time that the Russians actually crashed a Manned Mission killing the Cosmonaut only 2 weeks before Apollo 11 reached the Moon.
I guess we'll never know the truth about that one

Another interesting fact, Russia's Luna 1 missed its intended impact with the Moon and became the first spacecraft to fall into orbit around the Sun.

[OICURMT]

Originally Posted by ballaratdragons

Another interesting fact, Russia's Luna 1 missed its intended impact with the Moon and became the first spacecraft to fall into orbit around the Sun.

<snip>

...rumour floating around for a long time that the Russians actually crashed a Manned Mission killing the Cosmonaut only 2 weeks before Apollo 11 reached the Moon.
I guess we'll never know the truth about that one http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/..../rolleye09.gif

So in fact, the "Ruskies" were WAY ahead of us Yanks... first satellite in orbit around the earth, first to orbit the sun, first to orbit the moon... oh, did I mention first animal in space, first man in space, first woman in space...

I'd love to know if Archeologists on the moon 40 or so years from now will go to where the Russian one-way spacecraft crashed and say " WTF? They did make it first!"


I guess we could always say... well we actually returned them safely back, using computers what were slower and less powerful than a modern wristwatch!


OIC!

[GrampianStars (Rob)]

Originally Posted by overlord

And furthermore, Why was Russia never interested in a moon mission?... For the record I believe that we DID go to the moon and any suggestion otherwise is ridiculous, but at the same time I KNOW deep in my heart that there is something utterly fishy about the whole thing but I can't place it. Any ideas? .

wrap your head in Alfoil stick it in a microwave. turn on oven to High, for 6 days.
and you should have your answer.

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Originally Posted by OICURMT

So in fact, the "Ruskies" were WAY ahead of us Yanks... first satellite in orbit around the earth, first to orbit the sun, first to orbit the moon... oh, did I mention first animal in space, first man in space, first woman in space...

I'd love to know if Archeologists on the moon 40 or so years from now will go to where the Russian one-way spacecraft crashed and say " WTF? They did make it first!"


I guess we could always say... well we actually returned them safely back, using computers what were slower and less powerful than a modern wristwatch!


OIC!

. . and the first to cover up all their disasters too

[TrevorW]

Money, money huge capital investment

if it could guarantee to turn a profit well thats another story

[wavelandscott (Scott)]

Originally Posted by OICURMT

So in fact, the "Ruskies" were WAY ahead of us Yanks... first satellite in orbit around the earth, first to orbit the sun, first to orbit the moon... oh, did I mention first animal in space, first man in space, first woman in space...

I'd love to know if Archeologists on the moon 40 or so years from now will go to where the Russian one-way spacecraft crashed and say " WTF? They did make it first!"


I guess we could always say... well we actually returned them safely back, using computers what were slower and less powerful than a modern wristwatch!


OIC!

Maybe that is why Kennedy specifically said something about landing and returning safely...

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

I have a FB buddy Beverly Rother, she is a Space Travel Agent. She can help you organise your trip into space or low earth orbit.
NASA has a study in progress examining Lunar Meteor Strikes using data collected by Amateurs using scopes 8" and larger. (I looked into this when I first got my dome but.......) In the study, we were to be given selected small sections of the dark face of the moon to image, hoping to record any flashes ie meteor strikes. The reason? To establish to best place to set up a potential moon base. So they are still toying with the idea.
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall...05/05-190.html

[bartman (Bart)]

Originally Posted by overlord

And furthermore, Why was Russia never interested in a moon mission? That's what I wanna know. Enquiring mind wants to know. They did everything else that USA did except for moon missions. Can someone shed some light on this moon mystey. For the record I believe that we DID go to the moon and any suggestion otherwise is ridiculous, but at the same time I KNOW deep in my heart that there is something utterly fishy about the whole thing but I can't place it. Any ideas? It was all cloaked in such secrecy and now it's all gone and done

ALSO, can someone out there start a space hotel or something. That in itself will do a lot more for future space tourism than any moon mission from NASA imo.

Hey did you not watch Transformers: Dark of the Moon? I quite like the start of the movie.....almost believable.

In all seriousness, you raise a good point.
I was told last night by a friend that he heard on the radio that China wants to build a space station to use as a go-between to the moon so they can mine it....... I'm yet to investigate this!
Carbon Tax?????
Cheers
Bartman

[ZeroID (Brent)]

Science reasons aside there was never a viable reason to go to the moon, no $$$ to be made .... until they recently found heaps of Helium 3 which apparently makes for a good safe nuclear fuel system. Also big questions about water and oxygen availability from local resources, rocks etc.
I think now they are finding more reasons to go as they find usable materials and the technology to make use of it. Tourism was never going to be the big driver under current or earlier technology constraints.

[Stardrifter_WA]

Originally Posted by bartman

Hey did you not watch Transformers: Dark of the Moon? I quite like the start of the movie.....almost believable.

In all seriousness, you raise a good point.
I was told last night by a friend that he heard on the radio that China wants to build a space station to use as a go-between to the moon so they can mine it....... I'm yet to investigate this!
Carbon Tax?????
Cheers
Bartman

If you were to mine the Moon, how would you transport it? The shuttle program wasn't exactly a cheap means of transport. In a finacial world where the word viability is the primary consideration, does anyone really think any nation would spend the vast amount of trillions needed to just build the Moon base Let alone the cost of transport of mined goods. Apart from esoteric reasons, there appears to be no real advantage of building a Moon base. With the world in such a dire financial position, where would the money come from And, and this is a big AND, don't we have a lot of problems earthbound that we should use this money to solve first?

If NASA and the like are going to continue to spend large sums of money on space, I would sincerely hope that it is on more robotic exploration missions to explore the planets in more detail, rather than on a Moon base that would provide very little benefit, to anyone. After all, the space station isn't really newsworth, unless something untoward happens.

I do think a Moon base may be possible, one day in the distant future, as a stepping stone to manned space exploration.

Finally, if they want to build something on the moon, wouldn't a gigantically monstrous telescope on the Dark Side of the Moon (a nod here to Pink Floyd ) be a better option It would provide much more pleasure and science that a Moon base, me thinks

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

Originally Posted by Stardrifter_WA

If you were to mine the Moon, how would you transport it? The shuttle program wasn't exactly a cheap means of transport.

Returning the minerals to Earth will be relatively simple. Pop them into a capsule and drop it into the gravity well.

[xstream (John)]

Helium3 certainly does make it worth while for any nation.
I believe an amount equivalent to a fuel tanker load would more than meet Australia's requirements for a millennia.

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Originally Posted by Stardrifter_WA

Finally, if they want to build something on the moon, wouldn't a gigantically monstrous telescope on the Dark Side of the Moon (a nod here to Pink Floyd ) be a better option It would provide much more pleasure and science that a Moon base, me thinks

The dark side is only the 'dark' side when it is Full Moon on this side facing us

[icytailmark (Mark)]

Because nobody has the money!!!!!!!

[blindman]

Because it's forbidden!

[Stardrifter_WA]

Originally Posted by ballaratdragons

The dark side is only the 'dark' side when it is Full Moon on this side facing us

I know that, that's what shutters are for.