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NASA lays out $28 billion plan to return astronauts to the moon in 2024:
NASA officials released a nearly five-year, $28 billion plan Monday to return astronauts to the surface of the moon before the end of 2024, but the agency's administrator said the "aggressive" timeline set by the Trump administration last year hinges on Congress approving $3.2 billion in the next few months to kick-start development of new human-rated lunar landers.
The plan unveiled Monday contained few new details not previously disclosed by NASA. It assumes crews will launch on NASA's Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket, fly to the moon's vicinity on an Orion capsule, then transfer into a commercially-developed lunar lander to ferry the astronauts to and from the lunar surface.
NASA released a new overview document [(pdf)] Monday describing the agency's approach to landing astronauts on the moon for the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972. The program, named Artemis, encompasses the SLS, Orion, Human Landing Systems, and the Gateway, a human-tended platform in lunar orbit that will eventually serve as a staging point for missions to the moon.
(Score: 2, Redundant) by Mojibake Tengu on Thursday September 24 2020, @09:34AM (1 child)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_program#Costs [wikipedia.org]
🤦♂️
Respect Authorities. Know your social status. Woke responsibly.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @10:00AM
https://www.planetary.org/space-policy/cost-of-apollo [planetary.org]
(Score: 0, Troll) by Username on Thursday September 24 2020, @01:12PM (2 children)
What is the mission that requires landing on the moon? To give Trump a going away present?
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Thursday September 24 2020, @01:22PM
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/artemis_plan-20200921.pdf [nasa.gov]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 4, Interesting) by DannyB on Thursday September 24 2020, @03:45PM
The mission that requires a moon landing is to claim and hold territory on the moon. Especially the highest priced real estate.
That conjecture wood also explain the recent NASA competition to collect lunar samples, but not have to return them to Earth. Simply deliver them to NASA on the moon. (which strengthens the territorial claim)
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday September 24 2020, @03:40PM (4 children)
Wouldn't building a Moon base with robots controlled via telepresence be cheaper, faster, easier, and safer? There's a significant delay to signals that travel to Mars and back, but the Moon is close.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday September 24 2020, @03:46PM
Humans on the moon strengthens the territorial claim.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Thursday September 24 2020, @05:25PM
Probably, but as programs drag on their cost integrates over time and can balloon dramatically.
Initially, to land the first robot? Yes. To build a high capacity base which supports mining, manufacturing, assembly, fuel processing and launch capabilities? No. Boots on the ground will be able to overcome challenges faster than the development cycles required to address them as they are identified. There's a healthy quantity of unknown unknowns remaining in moon based operations. Even when most operations have been established and automated, people to install and maintain the robots will be faster to develop and deploy than robots. People have a high overhead, but not as high as complex robot systems development teams.
Of course, unless delay / abandonment of the program is a risk we are including in the definition of "safe/unsafe" evaluation.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Thursday September 24 2020, @05:26PM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_program#Artemis_Base_Camp [wikipedia.org]
They haven't finalized the plans, but it sounds like the initial habitat will be a payload that would be fully built on Earth, and delivered to the surface of the Moon. No lava tubes [wikipedia.org] or lunar concrete [wikipedia.org].
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @10:24PM
Robots are boring, and Musk wouldn't like it anyway.
Plus, don't forget the egos involved.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @03:50PM
You used to be the counter example: the government can do things efficiently and competently, look at NASA
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday September 24 2020, @09:59PM
(Score: 2) by jasassin on Friday September 25 2020, @05:46AM
What a waste of time and money.
That money could help with the homeless and indigent.
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