Half-a-century and many billions later, and THIS is what they propose?

[tenguzero]

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm a real nut when it comes to space, since I see it as the one force that's undeniably larger than mankind and our terrestrial pursuits (and ultimately one of the things that could serve to help bring countries of the world closer together in the coming decades of this heady new scientific era.) However, I can't say as that I entirely approve of this concept

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050919/ts_nm/space_moon_dc

The first thing that comes to my mind is, what the hell makes this better than the Apollo missions? Half-a-century and billions upon billions of dollars later, and we get "Apollo on steroids"? I don't want "Apollo on steroids", I want a brand new program. What happened to the daring days of early NASA manned flight? They cling to their aging shuttle program like grim death, they don't assist promising upstart private enterprises like they should, and they're not so much an "Aeronautics and Space Agency" any more as they are just another "Agency" seemingly run by suits and hobbled by their own inevitable shortcomings. I mean seriously -- what the hell is this? A BIGGER Apollo program: not tomorrow, not next year, not even this decade... BY 2018! 2018? Give me a break! Another decade or more to launch what is merely a larger version of a program already over three decades old? Have you seen the concept picture!? That's like something I would have built out of LEGOs when I was five! WHere's the sophistication? Where's the technological advancement? Hwere's the damn teleporter!? Give me something worthy of praising beyond the requisite faster computers.

I'll give them the benefit of the doubt here: this IS only a concept drawing, and some radical new advancement that changes everything could be just a couple years away, but you would think NASA could at least give us more to chew on then "Think Apollo, only on steroids." Sorry NASA, while Apollo was a magnificent undertaking that cemented the U.S.'s place at the forefront in space exploration, those days are long over. It's a new millenium, and a new ballgame. Time to stop constantly fretting over the risks (interestingly enough, we've lost more astronauts to the shuttle program and NASA's "new" post-Apollo generation than we did in the previous generation) and start giving us our money's worth again. I don't want vague promises of possible timeframes for the potential launch of a program that's little more than a glorified version of a 50 year-old first step.

This is why so many countries are starting to catch up to, and surpass the U.S. in the science and technology fields -- because we're too damn afraid to forge ahead. They're pioneering gene, stemcell, and cloning sciences, readily gearing up for and adopting alternative fuels, completely dominating in microchip and LCD innovations, and doing some pretty radical cutting edge medicine for a lot cheaper than we are. And where's our money and know-how going? A war over little more than an outdated fossil fuel, rebuilding a devastated city who's shortcomings were known for decades, and fixing every shuttle problem BUT the very one that that initially launched the process. All that being said, I applaud NASA for their numerous successes in recent unmanned explorations. But nothing fires people up more than seeing other people doing something for the first time, or an old achievement in a radically new and advanced way. This current moon landing plan, as it currently stands, is neither.

[TexasF355F1]

I agree with you. I also think NASA needs to just scrub all space flights until a new shuttle is completed.

[Muscletang]

Personally I think it'd be cool if this new "Apollo on steroids" could land on the Mood and serve as a base. Like now we have the International Space Station. Why not have an International Moon Station?

We could stay there longer, do experiments, do testing, and figure out ways to possibly live there. It'd be a huge step I think because then plans could be pointed at Mars after that.

[tenguzero]

And that's a very good point. It sounds like NASA does have plans to keep whatever it is there for an extended period, and (I've always thought) that it would make sense to utilize the moon as a launch point, as opposed to Earth. I mean, think about all the fuel saved by launching a craft from the low gravity and zero atmosphere environment that the moon provides. Definately a lot more sense in respect to a Mars jump, that's for sure. Even better would be if it did indeed have modular capabilities -- just like the ISS. It's nice having other companies foot a portion of the bill for something we all benefit from.

However, I still feel that NASA really needs to take a lot more initiative and get adventurous again. For as successful as the various probes of the last couple decades have been, there's still nothing to catch the public eye like a person doing it in the flesh, going where no one has gone before. We sure need SOMETHING to spark the flames of interest in science in this country

[fredjacksonsan]

Keep in mind, too, that NASA is going to the moon again, without any massive increase in budget like they did in the 60's. The technology now exists for extended stays there, or perhaps a permanent base, whereas it didn't in the 60's.

Consider it a stepping stone to further planetary exploration.