Back To The Moon!

[Dubh Aingeal]

NASA recently announced plans to build a permanent base on the moon by 2024. The (still tentative) plans call for building the base on one of the moon's poles, which constantly receive light from the sun and have less temperature fluctuation. This base will start small in 2020 and grow over time with the hopes of eventually supporting 180-day stays and providing a jumping-off point to Mars."

[n0Mad]

NASA recently announced plans to build a permanent base on the moon by 2024. The (still tentative) plans call for building the base on one of the moon's poles, which constantly receive light from the sun and have less temperature fluctuation. This base will start small in 2020 and grow over time with the hopes of eventually supporting 180-day stays and providing a jumping-off point to Mars."

They better be careful where they build. I have a friend who owns property on the moon.

[BrassFusion]

How can you own the moon? It's weird enough to say that someone owns land on earth...

[kellygrrrrrl]

How can you own the moon? It's weird enough to say that someone owns land on earth...

Ya know?

[Soulrev]

http://www.lunarregistry.com/

[BrassFusion]

http://www.lunarregistry.com/

Who are we paying to own the property on the moon? God? Neil Armstrong? The Mooninites?

[phee]

Maybe that's the answer to my financial issues

[BrassFusion]

Maybe that's the answer to my financial issues

Secure a legit looking domain and "sell" land on the moon?

Heh.

I got dibs on Jupiter.

[n0Mad]

I want to peddle Uranus. :laughing

[pharoh]

I'm claiming Saturn....and not the crappy car either

[BrassFusion]

I want to peddle Uranus. :laughing

now i KNOW that's illegal

[Zenji]

2020 seems like a long time away. If we don't do it before then we could fall into a Moonbase Gap. I mean, the moon seems big and all but it's not REALLY that big.

I think this is a goofy waste of time and money, as is pretty much all space exploration. Instead of investing billions in research on shit we can't touch or see and isn't even on our planey, why not spend that time and money making our planet a better place?

Ohh...the planet could be dying, let's just jump ship and try to populate and destroy all the natural resources on some other planet, sweet!!!

I bet if they took those billions of dollars and offered to pay people to die it would help the environment out a lot more.

We pay you X amount of cash. You can leave it to your family. We throw you in an acid shower with a million other people. Your family gets some cash and the world is a better place without you. I bet you we'd get a lot more accomplished this way in terms of helping the planet.

[torn asunder]

I think this is a goofy waste of time and money, as is pretty much all space exploration. Instead of investing billions in research on shit we can't touch or see and isn't even on our planey, why not spend that time and money making our planet a better place?

that would be great, for the next few thousand years, but if humanity is to go on, it must be beyond this planet, because no matter what we do (other than human extinction, which kind of goes against the whole "humanity going on" thing) the resources of this planet will eventually be gone and we'll have no chioce but to either die, or leave.

[Zenji]

I don't know, I'm all for the genocide theory.

Besides, do you really think life will cease to exist because of the planet? We may destroy all the natural resources and indeed ourselves millions of years from now but as the earth changes so will we. We will continue to survive, wther or not in this "human" form is up to speculation but life in general.

I just think it's dumb to think the next 50-100 years will be more vital a time to explore space especially because we haven't been exploring it for all that long now anyway. What could we possibly achieve in the next 100 years that the earth through millions of years of constant evolution hasn't already faced, fixed and renewed? I mean, it REALLY doesn't matter how much of our resources we use up, the earth is a giant recycling bin.

I just feel the impatient desire to help speed up an already flowing process to destroy "humanity" as IF it were the most important functioning part of the earth. Everything works together, recycles together. There's always gonna be time for an end to humanity so a new kind of humanity can be born.

I'm just a firm believer that we can't make humanity survive just by flying to another planet. It just seems absurd to me to think that humans will outlive the earth. Why even bother going elsewhere?

[BrassFusion]

Why even bother going elsewhere?

For the same reason you don't commit suicide right after you wake up every morning.

You want a life, and you want it to be somewhat happy. You want to innovate and learn new things. You're human.

And humankind can't grow until we take to the stars. It might take literally tens of thousands of years to find other intelligent life or anything else worth exploring, but we've got eternity to play with if we develop self-sustainable habitats. Like moon bases.

[Zenji]

But the moon is not the earth and the moon can never take the place of the earth. The moon cannot sustain human life. The moon cannot produce the resources humans require (or any life for that matter).

I just have difficulty with the concept of a self-sustaining "base" for humans anywhere other than on earth. If other places could support human life then there'd be human life there now. I mean, we can't even create self-sustainable environments everyone on earth as it is. Tens of thousands of years from now I don't even think it will be necessary because humanity will have long been gone.

I guess the biggest part to get over for most is the self-important mentality that humanity is the most important and intelligent form of life on this planet. I happen to believe the smartest creatures on this planet are the ones who aren't trying to find their way off the planet.

[n0Mad]

But the moon is not the earth and the moon can never take the place of the earth. The moon cannot sustain human life. The moon cannot produce the resources humans require (or any life for that matter).

I just have difficulty with the concept of a self-sustaining "base" for humans anywhere other than on earth. If other places could support human life then there'd be human life there now. I mean, we can't even create self-sustainable environments everyone on earth as it is. Tens of thousands of years from now I don't even think it will be necessary because humanity will have long been gone.

I guess the biggest part to get over for most is the self-important mentality that humanity is the most important and intelligent form of life on this planet. I happen to believe the smartest creatures on this planet are the ones who aren't trying to find their way off the planet.

Good points. People have said that we will deplete all of Earth's resources so we will have to go elsewhere. Where? To a planet or a moon that doesn't have any resources? If we can create the resources we need on a resourceless planet, then why can't we perpetuate Earth's resources?

[BrassFusion]

But the moon is not the earth and the moon can never take the place of the earth. The moon cannot sustain human life. The moon cannot produce the resources humans require (or any life for that matter).

What resources would those be?

I just have difficulty with the concept of a self-sustaining "base" for humans anywhere other than on earth. If other places could support human life then there'd be human life there now.

Open all your windows and turn off your furnace. Unplug your refrigerator. Stop using telephones and e-mail.

Damn, isn't technology wonderful?

I mean, we can't even create self-sustainable environments everyone on earth as it is. Tens of thousands of years from now I don't even think it will be necessary because humanity will have long been gone.

It's not that we can't do it, it's that no one wants to fund it. And just imagine: if we DID achieve the technology to establish a permanent moon base, that would include branch technology to END WORLD HUNGER AND DEPENDENCE ON FOSSIL FUELS AND MYRIAD OTHER ECOLOGICAL SHORTCOMINGS.

END.

(Sorry for the caps, but damn.)

The only hard part would be finding some sucker(s) to fund it, because money makes the world go round.

I guess the biggest part to get over for most is the self-important mentality that humanity is the most important and intelligent form of life on this planet. I happen to believe the smartest creatures on this planet are the ones who aren't trying to find their way off the planet.

Would those include the turkeys that drown in the rain because they're too stupid to go inside a coop or not look straight up at the sky? You should be more grateful for your ability to use logical reasoning- you know, that quality that discerns man as the smartest animal on the planet. Uh. On average, that is.

[Zenji]

Uhh...Oxygen is a big one but I'm sure there are a good many other resources the moon doesn't have that we can't "simulate".

Hmmm... your argument is confusing. I was saying we can't even create livable self-sustaining places everywhere on earth, why would we think we could do so on another planet or the moon?

I'm not sure how technology fits into that by your description. Sure technology is great, but we haven't even pushed those limits here on earth. Why would we think that doing it temporarily on the moon would make anything better?

Now if this was some (We're building an underwater ocean base that's self-sustaining) I'd at least have a little more appreciation for the fact that technology is being used here on earth.

I'm also failing to see how making a moon base is gonna cure world hunger (or was that just an example). You know another way to cure world hunger? Kill the hungry. Maybe if we chose not to overpopulate and destroy all our natural food sources we wouldn't have to create new technology to substitute our food supply. What food exactly will we be eating on the moon? It's not really made of cheese you know.

I'm all for ending ecological shortcomings but I'm also a rationalist and I know it won't happen in my lfetime nor does it matter. The earth will replenish itself regardless whether or not I or mankind in general is here to witness it. I just feel that thinking we can outsmart our own planet is ridiculous. It's like those little 12 year old runaways. You can try and run from the mess you made but you'll usually find you're not running somewher ebetter and almost always find your way back home. If you do manage to find a place safe to stay you're much more vulnerable. And more often than not, no matter what you go through during this time, mother earth will always welcome you back.

Turkeys? Everything that dies has a good reason to do it and it's for the best. If I have to use logic then I'm searching for a logical argument to support space exploration and so far I haven't seen any evidence to suggest that having a moon base does anything for us other than give people a goal that sounds cool but has no good use.

[torn asunder]

But the moon is not the earth and the moon can never take the place of the earth. The moon cannot sustain human life. The moon cannot produce the resources humans require (or any life for that matter).

I just have difficulty with the concept of a self-sustaining "base" for humans anywhere other than on earth. If other places could support human life then there'd be human life there now. I mean, we can't even create self-sustainable environments everyone on earth as it is. Tens of thousands of years from now I don't even think it will be necessary because humanity will have long been gone.

I guess the biggest part to get over for most is the self-important mentality that humanity is the most important and intelligent form of life on this planet. I happen to believe the smartest creatures on this planet are the ones who aren't trying to find their way off the planet.

the moon would be a stepping stone to other worlds which might support human life. just one (far-fetched, but plausible) idea is terraforming. something this reminds me of, is the two options for starting/running a business - you seem to be of the thought that you open a business with the understanding that it will eventually end, whereas others will go on the theory that a business will keep going indefintely. two different approaches. replace "business" with "humanity", and i think you'll see the comparison...

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

Just an FYI... Breathable air is the only thing the moon does not have that we need.

[phee]

And an atmosphere that will illicit us not exploding... and temperature regulation so we don't burn/freeze to death

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

but those are things we can build there. All the recources to do those things are there... even the air after a while. See... we build a temporay outpost. Then we harvest raw materials and process them. We get building materials, water and breathable air. We then build a "permanent" outpost using materials from the moon.

[torn asunder]

but those are things we can build there. All the recources to do those things are there... even the air after a while. See... we build a temporay outpost. Then we harvest raw materials and process them. We get building materials, water and breathable air. We then build a "permanent" outpost using materials from the moon.

yeah, i'm with ya!

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

BTW.. you can trace most major advances in science over the last 40 years back to the space program.. even ones you cant see a link to. It is Rocket science ya know.