The Moon

Fascinating!

If we are to ever have colonies on other planets starting with Mars, we need something a "bit" closer to test our our technologies and find out how it all might work.

The only thing is money. To "do" anything space is extremely expensive as well as complicated, so I question whether the Americans will go it alone. They'll probably seek allies to share the burden, especially with Trump at the helm.

Glad to hear this. Heero, I also thought first off that he was having a Kennedy moment, which is rather ironic seeing as the big K was a democrat. But it shouldn't turn into a space race, it should be a nice, sharing of knowledge between Earthlings. Science isn't for blowing trumpets. (Excuse pun)

Trump is a businessman so if it looks like a good deal, he'll sign for it. And as China is almost certainly the next big space racer, Trump is keeping America in the space business for the future where wars will be technology based. Humans are slowly creeping out of their Earth cocoon, many kicking and screaming as reality leaves their cherished beliefs about almost everything behind and presents the truth of our isolation and the vastness of the cosmos without God.

I often wonder if humanity at large is mature and sane enough for this.

What's the betting Trump has some hidden financial interest in a aeronautical/aerospace company that all the contracts for stuff will go too.

Could be Heero, but how can any one country afford to do this?

Although the moon has intrigued us for decades with sci-fi stories of bases on it, what practical reason beyond military... would there be for having permanent settlements there?

There's nothing on the moon, its incredibly difficult to bring supplies to it, I just don't see the point of it, although love the idea.

China Moon mission lands Chang'e-4 spacecraft on far side

Quote from BBC News

China says it has successfully landed a robotic spacecraft on the far side of the Moon, the first ever such attempt and landing.

At 10:26 Beijing time (02:26 GMT), the un-crewed Chang'e-4 probe touched down in the South Pole-Aitken Basin, state media said.

It is carrying instruments to analyse the unexplored region's geology, as well to conduct biological experiments.

The landing is being seen as a major milestone in space exploration.

This happened a few days ago and it's a major milestone for the Chinese, in particular, as it's their robot that has reached the other side of the moon. Didn't get that much attention from the western media, considering it's a major feat that no other country has managed to do.

I'll restrain myself here and won't go into conspiracy theories, but now that ice has been previously found on the moon, is there any chance of finding life there?

After decades of sci-fi stories about colonies on the moon, are we one step closer to that goal, or is that as far away as ever?

I heard about that telescope plan, very interesting. Makes perfect sense.

I wonder if anyone has asked the question that as we've done so much damage to our own world and we've already littered the moon with dozens of items of rubbish already, whether we should be there at all and just leave it alone?

I think we should claim the moon ? Just for the cheese alone.

So will the Yanks, because they landed folks on the Moon, try and claim landing fees from anybody else who lands on he moon with robots or live astronaughts?

Quote from Mrunclevanya

So will the Yanks, because they landed folks on the Moon, try and claim landing fees from anybody else who lands on he moon with robots or live astronaughts?

There's meant to be a international law somewhere which says no country can make claims on any territory of the moon. Of course we'll see how long that lasts if any minerals are found in large enough quantities to mine.

I think by then this will be mainly a SpaceX mission or some other company running things instead of NASA. The private companies' tech is far ahead of what NASA can do now.

Quote from Reuters

Plans detailed for first U.S. mission to land on moon since Apollo

The first American spacecraft expected to land on the moon in nearly 50 years will be an unmanned robotic lander built by closely held Astrobotic Technology Inc and launched in two years by United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket, the companies told Reuters on Monday.

and from the same article:

Quote

Other countries are also focused on the moon. A Chinese space probe successfully touched down on the far side of the moon in January, though Israel’s unmanned robotic lander Beresheet crashed on its final descent in April. India’s Chandrayaan-2 rover, launched in July, was on its way to the moon’s south pole, unexplored by any other nation.

The Trump administration wants private companies to take some of the load off NASA and along with other countries, it looks like the moon is going to get a lot busier in in the future. Could we end up with a situation like the Arctic, with different countries and companies each with their own agendas, competing against each other and sometimes doing so in a hostile way?