Or just ride on one of those being used in any of the current wars? That would work even better.
Or this would fit better…
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quite amazing really that for the first time in over 50 years someone will step foot on the moon.
and all fuckface can talk about is sending a country of 60 million ‘back to the dark ages where they belong’
appalling.
mankind will again stand on something we have looked at for 10s of thousands of years and dreamt of…and the main topic of the day is about killing each other and the ‘markets’.
good god.
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Continuing live coverage by NASA on YT.
With commentaries and analysis
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Not quite yet.
Artemes II will only circle the moon and then head back to Earth.
Artemis III, scheduled for nexr year will only get to LEO, to test docking procedures between Orion and lunar lander.
Artemis IV is now planned to be the first in the series to put boots on the regolith, in 2028 … … if all goes well.
Meanwhile, China’s Lanyue lander remains on schedule for a moon landing by 2030, possibly 2029.
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Not to be a party pooper or anything but I don’t see the point of a pissing contest and another Moon race. It’s literally a dead rock in our orbit, vital to Earth yes with it’s gravitational pull etc, but as something viable for mankind to use? Not sure, even in terms of the resources which are likely to be there. Lunar bases, habitats… These are all likely to be highly specialised, years down the line and expensive with the benefits not accessible or available to mankind at large.
I may be in the minority here but we have to think further afield and bigger than the Moon and Mars. They’re close, of course, but lifeless. Alpha Centauri, though, is reachable within a lifetime (just about) at ‘only’ 5% of light speed while Titan offers an interesting concept in terraforming. I concede that these are out of reach in any of our lifetimes and probably that of our grandkids but with the significant resources dedicated to what I feel are vanity projects instead redirected to areas that can actually be viable alternatives for human settlement in scale, it’s not impossible over the next 2 to 300 hundred years to at least get a probe to Alpha Centauri and/or a viable plan for Titan.
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What moon race (redux)?
It’s only mostly in the minds and mouths of some US politicians and the media.
I believe NASA Is not and neither is the Chinese goverment.
The latter set a target long ago and is sticking to it.
If it seem to be a race, it’s chiefly due to the repeated delays of the Artemis programme.
It has slipped many years, fanning some frenzy among the uninformed and misinformed.
Whoever gets there again after over half a century, it doesn’t matter that much as its an achievement of and for mankind.
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On of my earliest memories of current affairs is seeing pictures on the news of men on the moon. (Not sure which one, but it would have been one of the later Apollo missions). It seemed incredible at the time. I’m not sure what they are planning with this one. I can remember an interview with Gene Cernan on The Sky At Night discussing his mission, and essentially they knew that the programme was cancelled and had to cram in as much scientific work as possible.
Anyway, I expect the locals will look forward to seeing us again.
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The case is not closed for Mars. It offers the the only chance we have of generating data towards answering how fecund (or barren) this universe is. If after 10 years of boots on the ground we have no hint of life, humans will die alone.
A little Artemis II update.
An issue with its toilet that cropped up after the successful launch was quickly resolved.
Great as it will be a 10-day journey and imagine the discomfort and inconvenience of the 4-person crew if it doens’t function properly.
Orion will soon reach the critical phase of TransLunar Injection (TLI) in approximatly 16 hours, and then the trajectory onwards to moon orbit.
Bon voyage and good luck.
Days 1 to 2: Launch. Earth orbit checks and TransLunar Injection
Days 3 to 4: Coast to the Moon.
Days 5 to 8: Circle the Moon and Return to Earth
Day 10: touchdown.
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i dont think its a pissing competition.
ive discovered a fair bit about cosmology, astronomy and the like through my sons interest, and i know that earthbound telescopes have certain drawbacks regarding viewing through our atmosphere, and orbital Telescopes come with another set of issues regarding maintenance, a lunar based telescope can fill a few of those gaps between the two…even down to the type of telescope it is.
i think they need to replace/readjust the mirror mounted on the moon ( for measuring distances etc…true)
then you have the possibility of manufacturing robotically in outter space, not in orbit, but on a lunar surface, which would ease massive amounts of energy pressures on our globe
and im sure theres other things, multitude of things.
so whilst its certainly not as glamourous as sending a probe to titan or landing on Europa, as a cost vs reward venture, its not, in anyway, a dead rubber.
im not an expert on the matter, but have been to many a presentation and lecture on the subject
amazing topics in cosmology. i could go on for hours
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No doubt and let me clear, it’s no small feat. In the great scope of things, and in my opinion and probably not that of most others, a meaningless one. There are far bigger challenges to overcome with much more benefit to man. That’s not so say we cannot learn from the Moon or Mars or Venus but we know them to be uninhabitable (aside from major habs/domes etc being built) and lifeless.
Projects Orion and Breakthrough Starshot should be getting major funding from all angles instead of being looked at as niche.
That’s assuming that the raw materials for manufacturing in scale can be found in space/on the moon with the means of extraction being viable. Otherwise the sheer energy expenditure in getting them into orbit plus the environmental cost in doing so negates any advantage.
Don’t get me wrong. I’d love to see all of that pressure taken off our blue globe and there are resources in the Solar System to be harversted I’m sure. Is the answer to that the Moon, though? I have my doubts.
Am really not a fan of Starshot. There’s something about building a giant laser that is a bit too James Bond master villain for me.
Feels like Alpha Centauri is a leap too far - at least a century out from being a realistic goal.
I wish those responsible for passing the Wolf Amendment (limiting collaboration with China on space activities) will be herded onto the SpaceX Starship and launched on a one-way trip towards the Sun.
The separate moon bases planned by both the US and China are wasteful. Why can’t mankind pool their space exploration resources together to benefit humanity? It’s all due to the stupidity and nearsightedness of the US CONGRESS.
How great it could be if NASA and CNSA can work hand in hand. Low chance but it’s high time for the Wolf Amendment to repealed.
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The absence of ESA in this conversation is another example of the stagnation of Europe.
Water. Water = hydrogen = fuel.
Plus on a more conspiracy route is tritium. Very little if any natural tritium on earth. We make it in nuclear reactors. You need tritium for nuclear fusion.
ESA is already effectively irrelevant in space exploration. A hanger-on at best.
Japan barely on the table.
Russia sliding towards oblivion.
Only India is upcoming, albeit at snail pace.
All others are just character actors.
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This is my major beef with Musk and why in my opinion he’s a grifter with the mind of a child.
If Mars is a serious target. I don’t think it is in all honesty, then energy generation needs to be resolved. If we want to evolve as a species we need to generate more energy and that ultimately means doing it in space. Meanwhile Musk plays with his Mars rockets completely ignorant to this need.
As a side note. In any other business contract Space X would be a gross failure. But he still gets those juicy subsidies and contracts to play.
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Artemis II mission is getting really close to the moon. 8 minutes away from breaking Apollo 13 distance record.
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Some nice photos taken during the Artemis II mission are being posted on Flickr.
Edit: Click on the photo below to go to the NASA Flickr page.
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