alexterrell - 11/4/2008 3:29 AMHow about technology testing machines? Testing ISRU, lunar diggers, solar towers, etc.Are any plans on the drawing board?What should the first NASA mission be doing?What would be used to launch the first mission?Given the planning length of these missions, shouldn't these be starting about now?
Nullset - 16/4/2008 11:09 AMI just read about the idea of sending chimps to Mars before trying to colonize it with humans. It seems like an obvious prelude, despite PETA's objections to it. However, we're ages away from sending enough people to Mars to colonize. Has anyone looked into sending a group of chimps on a one way trip to the Moon and see how our nearest cousins react to long term life in 1/6 of Earth's gravity? There's really no point in building "transportation system" grade rockets if we can never live there in the first place.
iamlucky13 - 17/4/2008 5:51 PMI believe, however, the Mars Gravity Biosatellite is still progressing, and may eventually get launched.http://www.marsgravity.org/main/
Jim - 14/4/2008 7:44 PMQuotealexterrell - 11/4/2008 3:29 AMHow about technology testing machines? Testing ISRU, lunar diggers, solar towers, etc.Are any plans on the drawing board?What should the first NASA mission be doing?What would be used to launch the first mission?Given the planning length of these missions, shouldn't these be starting about now?the need for those are still years away
iamlucky13 - 18/4/2008 4:44 PMAre ISRU missions necessary precursors, however? Will they have a major effect on the ISRU experiments a crewed mission would conduct?Constellation isn't dependent on ISRU, so are the benefits of dedicated ISRU robotic missions worth the costs compared to waiting until you've got human hands to operate them?
alexterrell - 21/4/2008 6:17 PMAt what point do the activities in this program feed into the main program? A descent plan might show NASA needs the research now.
A_M_Swallow - 21/4/2008 5:31 PMQuotealexterrell - 21/4/2008 6:17 PMAt what point do the activities in this program feed into the main program? A descent plan might show NASA needs the research now.IMHO. Second unmanned lunar ascent from the Moon.The first ascent can be fuelled using propellant sent from Earth. Keep things simple by separating testing the rocket from testing the ISRU.
kraisee - 22/4/2008 3:02 AMCreating an industrial capacity for turning lunar regolith into highly refined and pure rocket propellant is going to cost more than $1bn. You're probably talking at least that just to land the minimum necessary hardware on the lunar surface in the first place!
kraisee - 21/4/2008 9:02 PMCreating an industrial capacity for turning lunar regolith into highly refined and pure rocket propellant is going to cost more than $1bn. You're probably talking at least that just to land the minimum necessary hardware on the lunar surface in the first place!ISRU is going to have to offer a much better cost benefit than just refueling a handful of crew ascent stages each year before its going to be worthwhile.* * *The break-even point is a lot higher than most people seem to believe.Ross.
Its actually a lot harder than you'd believe to even make an economical case for Lunar ISRU powering a reusable lander and a cycle-taxi vehicle between Earth and Lunar orbits. The cost to develop the reusable hardware *and keep it maintained to a sufficiently high safety standard* is higher than the cost savings for the launchers.