Completing our unfinished business on the moon

mothership, during REM.

Don't use more than one, or it'll short out your implant. Been there, done that, needed lots of baking soda to put out my hair...

tah

Assuming he has (barely) enough intelligence not to mean distance, and aside from delta V considerations, this makes a world of sense philosophically: A civilization with a base on its satellite is MUCH closer to another planet than one which never leaves earth orbit.

Here's the point that I might disagree with the (surprising large) number of nay-sayers.

Having a moon base provides one thing that LEO assembly won't: stability.

We're already worried about how the ISS is dropping, and what will happen if we don't get the shuttles back up soon. Furthermore, space EVAs are extremely difficult. Lastly, lack of gravity can actually work against you sometimes.

On the moon, the pieces have a single, stable place where they can remain while the pieces are put together. If there is a 'shuttle-type' disaster, and things are put on hold for a while, there's no worry about things 'drifting out of orbit'. While it still requires EVAs, gravity is available so that they're not 'fighting themselves' in the assembly process. And lastly, if in fact they're able to send up 'mini-factories' to build any part of things (even if it's just shelter material), then they have accomplished a major goal.

The other aspect of a lunar station that folks haven't talked about much is the ability to have a permanent telescope base, looking for some of those 'collision' asteroids. I'm constantly surprised at how often we find one that 'just missed' the earth, and it's almost always after it has passed by--not beforehand.

David Erbas-White

mothership, during REM.

No, in fact simply grounding to a plumbing pipe (cold water, must have a continuous run to earth, though) is sufficient. Standard speaker-gauge or zip wire is more than adequate.

Personally, for "tough" cases (people who have been targeted by Illuminati for level 4 survellance and/or monthly alien abduction + anal probe treatment), I recommend a multi-tiered defense setup including:

- aluminum foil REM sleep helmet

- complete bedroom Faraday cage enclosure

- anechoic RF baffle system

- several dozen CD's hung from the ceiling with string, to scatter directed beam mind-sucking ray energy

- a copy of Ted Nugent's "Double Live Gonzo" ready to play on a 500 watt stereo, to attack and destroy alien frontal lobes, eliminating their PSI and cognitive abilities

mothership, during REM.

And, if you wish to remain mobile whilst being protected from stray psycho-tronic radiation, just ground your tinfoil beany to a standard convalescent aluminum walker minus the rubber feet!

Works great!

Clever disguise too...

tah

I think Bush is taking a much longer view

from "Is the Moon moving away from the Earth?"

"The Moon's orbit (its circular path around the Earth) is indeed getting larger, at a rate of about 3.8 centimeters per year."

whateever and whomever we put on the moon will be taking the moon itself for a ride

well as least their future generations will in a few billion years

;)

- iz

I'm having flashbacks to Spaced: 1999.

And that ain't a good thing.

Zooty

I'm sorry Laurel. I came all this way -- but I guess I put you through all this for nothing. -- David Gray

There are many people who would consider the activities Clinton engaged in a severe perversion that should be outlawed between anyone. One of their goals is to overturn the recent Supreme Court decision on that topic and enact some rather draconian laws that will affect everyone.

You know, there are worse things the government can do than ban high power rocketry....

The last two Presidents who weren't suffering from antisocial personality disorder (formerly known as sociopaths) were Carter and Ford.

The only question is where the pathology tends to be displayed. To put it bluntly, is the President screwing someone or screwing everyone?

Zooty

Correct. You're better off in LEO than on the surface of the moon for any vehicle being built of Earth materials.

Bob Kaplow NAR # 18L TRA # "Impeach the TRA BoD" >>> To reply, remove the TRABoD!

Only if the lunar colony is totally self sufficient without supply from Earth. I just hope they don't pile up all the nuclear waste materials in one place...

Bob Kaplow NAR # 18L TRA # "Impeach the TRA BoD" >>> To reply, remove the TRABoD!

Yes, but the surface of the moon contains oxygen and useful metals (Al, Ti), and there is intense sunlight available for process power... if you can supply a good chunk of your structural, propulsion, and life support mass from the moon instead of lifting it off Earth, it's a win.

-dave w

But it IS still at the bottom of a gravit well. Just a smaller one. if we have a self sustaining lunar colony, going to Mars from there makes sense. If we have a lunar colony that is dependent on resupply ships from Earth, then it's a very bad place to start from.

Bob Kaplow NAR # 18L TRA # "Impeach the TRA BoD" >>> To reply, remove the TRABoD!

I see you've put a lot of thought into this ( he says while ssllloooowwwwlllllyyyyy edging away).

forget to ground it.

mothership, during REM.

directed beam mind-sucking ray energy

stereo, to attack and

Er... half the time.

otherwise it's dark outside with only Earthshine for power... if you're lucky.

That's why nuclear reactors are _required_ for any moonbase built with curent or near-future technology.

Such, if feasible, will not happen in the time frame currently assigned to the Mars missions.

With no atmosphere. That matters. I wonder how much a few dozen rail guns is going to dislodge the moon over time?

Maybe this is a dumb question, but where did the moon get the oxygen to produce those oxides in the first place??

Phil Stein

I've discovered the most annoying lifeform in the universe...

Alert the Discovery Channel! I've just now discovered the most annoying lifeform in the known universe: A top-poster bottom-signer...

Bearing chickens? I didn't even know he was pregnant...