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from the To-the-Moon,-Alice!-To-the-Moon! dept.
No more sending humans to an asteroid. We're going back to the Moon:
The policy calls for the NASA administrator to "lead an innovative and sustainable program of exploration with commercial and international partners to enable human expansion across the solar system and to bring back to Earth new knowledge and opportunities." The effort will more effectively organize government, private industry, and international efforts toward returning humans on the Moon, and will lay the foundation that will eventually enable human exploration of Mars.
"The directive I am signing today will refocus America's space program on human exploration and discovery," said President Trump. "It marks a first step in returning American astronauts to the Moon for the first time since 1972, for long-term exploration and use. This time, we will not only plant our flag and leave our footprints -- we will establish a foundation for an eventual mission to Mars, and perhaps someday, to many worlds beyond."
The policy grew from a unanimous recommendation by the new National Space Council, chaired by Vice President Mike Pence, after its first meeting Oct. 5. In addition to the direction to plan for human return to the Moon, the policy also ends NASA's existing effort to send humans to an asteroid. The president revived the National Space Council in July to advise and help implement his space policy with exploration as a national priority.
President's remarks and White House release.
Presidential Memorandum on Reinvigorating America's Human Space Exploration Program
Also at Reuters and New Scientist.
Previously: Should We Skip Mars for Now and Go to the Moon Again?
How to Get Back to the Moon in 4 Years, Permanently
NASA Eyeing Mini Space Station in Lunar Orbit as Stepping Stone to Mars
NASA and Roscosmos Sign Joint Statement on the Development of a Lunar Space Station
Bigelow and ULA to Put Inflatable Module in Orbit Around the Moon by 2022
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 12 2017, @10:24PM (7 children)
The one thing we really ought to get is a lunar sample that isn't contaminated by air. All the sample return containers for Apollo leaked.
We can do this with a robot. Probably the way to deal with air is to weld the container's lid shut.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday December 12 2017, @10:40PM (3 children)
Or we could do the analysis on-site. Curiosity and the upcoming Mars 2020 [wikipedia.org] rover can do that, although the Mars 2020 mission involves a possible sample return to Earth.
Or do the analysis on-site with fleshbag astronauts. Beyond the orbital lunar space station plans, Japan [soylentnews.org] and Russia [soylentnews.org] seem interested in putting boots on the ground sometime in the 2030s. I don't know if there are any plans to ferry astronauts between the surface and lunar orbit.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 12 2017, @11:39PM (2 children)
R U sure bodybag astronauts aren't a better deal?
I hear Moon is deficient in carbon and nitrogen, this one thinks sending the US Congress and government there is a net plus all around.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday December 12 2017, @11:47PM (1 child)
You don't want to send this guy [wikipedia.org] into space.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 13 2017, @04:20AM
Nope, you don't. He'll just puke again, and again...
from wiki
(Score: 2) by frojack on Wednesday December 13 2017, @02:21AM
The didn't all leak, in fact its not clear that all of them have been opened. There are still small cylindrical sample return flasks that were still unopened as of 2010 [usra.edu].
Most of the exposed samples were exposed on earth, when a glove box leaked, but by that time the samples had already been bagged.
This MIGHT have mattered had some form of life had been found. But that wasn't the case, and there's no indication the leaking ALSRC affected the sample in any meaningful way, and certainly this alone would not justify building a lab on the moon or trying to do analyses in lunar atmosphere. The density of the atmosphere at the moon's surface is comparable to the density of the outermost fringes of Earth's atmosphere where the International Space Station orbits.
If we intend to visit there, in person or via any type of probe, robot, or vehicle, there's no point in trying real hard to return totally un contaminated samples. We are going to contaminate an entire solar system body with our tools anyway.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 13 2017, @04:36AM (1 child)
How do you weld the container's lid shut without oxygen?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 13 2017, @07:15AM
Vacuum welding? [wikipedia.org] There's a lot of vacuum :)