Can we put a man on the moon?

[Thebobo]

One reason we should got to the moon, Helium 3

China's plans to return to the moon early 2020s. Filling one shuttle's cargo bay with helium-3 could bring the equivalent energy of 1bn barrels of oil back to earth.

China is taking lunar mining seriously

.

 

[SMOGZINN]

One reason we should got to the moon, Helium 3

First off, other then research we don't even have a use for Helium-3 yet. It is the theorized fuel for second generation fusion reactors, but we don't even have any first generation fusion reactors yet.

China's plans to return to the moon early 2020s. Filling one shuttle's cargo bay with helium-3 could bring the equivalent energy of 1bn barrels of oil back to earth.

I'm not sure how China intends to do this as the amount of Helium-3 on the moon is still only a few ppb. They would have to set up equipment and process 3 billion tons of moon soil to get the 20 tons of Helium-3 they are claiming that they are going to bring back. It would take years to process that much moon soil, and all of it in one of the harshest environments imaginable.

 

[shortylickens]

I went to the Udvar Hazy museum and a lot of folks there think we could not do it today.
There is so single person alive who's so knowledgeable and capable as to make a massive project like that actually work.

 

[MongGrel]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeIu1FiTTyI

 

[norseamd]

I went to the Udvar Hazy museum and a lot of folks there think we could not do it today. There is so single person alive who's so knowledgeable and capable as to make a massive project like that actually work.

The difference is that we do not have some equal superpower showing off guns right in front of us. The Chinese are smart and use their soft power doctrine. They have millennia of philosophy and intellectualism to guide their doctrines and decisions.

 

[norseamd]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeIu1FiTTyI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uX2cS8wvQHI

 

[Craig234]

I went to the Udvar Hazy museum and a lot of folks there think we could not do it today.
There is so single person alive who's so knowledgeable and capable as to make a massive project like that actually work.

Yup, and that's kind of the point, in part. They didn't have the people who could do it either, and they trained them and learned to do it. Can we do that?

 

[Craig234]

Pretty much this. This whole thread is moot as Obama is NO JFK; not even close. He's not a visionary and it's pretty apparent that he wants the US to take a step backward on the world stage. Remember, he's the 'lead from behind' guy.

Don't think the JFK different than Obama is a big part of this. I'm very familiar with JFK, and while I think he was one of our best presidents, and the best since, and a better leader, he could not have governed in this climate. He would have been destroyed. You think the Republicans are hyping Benghazi as an issue? What would they have done with the Bay of Pigs, when they'd have claimed that JFK blew our one chance to free Cuba by refusing to provide any US air assistance to the invading Cubans?

How would they have responded to his call for a massive project for a man on the moon when they shoot down almost any stimulus or package just to repair infrastructure?

You're missing the problem to think it's about the differences between JFK and Obama.

It's a large cultural shift of the Reagan 'government is the problem' sort, it's a loss of the sense of democracy, of the people to take charge of government, it's a shift from the lows of economic inequality - which had greatly decreased after the 1920's - back to record highs, and an unprecedented manipulation of public opinion by well funded propaganda think tanks and a right-wing media system of radio, tv and print and internet, and of big money allowed in politics and 'corporations are people', none of which existed then.

Those were the times of Democratic super-majorities in Congress so things could be done, whether Social Security, Medicare, Civil Rights, or men on the moon.

JFK was a great leader, but he couldn't have been today. He couldn't have been elected. The only democrats we can elect today are corporatist 'centrists'.

The country has lost its ability to do something big like that. The biggest thing we've done in a long time was to greatly expand our 'homeland security' spending.

 

[MongGrel]

One reason we should got to the moon, Helium 3

China's plans to return to the moon early 2020s. Filling one shuttle's cargo bay with helium-3 could bring the equivalent energy of 1bn barrels of oil back to earth.

China is taking lunar mining seriously

.

 

[norseamd]

China is methodically running their space program and they are on a freight train roll towards running a fully operational spaceflight program which includes space stations in Earth orbit, Lunar colonies, and possibly the potential as the first country to successfully complete human spaceflight to Mars.

 

[OverVolt]

If we "can we put a man on the moon" you mean pay Russia of all places to lift us up to the moon because we dismantled all of our shuttles, then I guess so.

 

[Craig234]

China is methodically running their space program and they are on a freight train roll towards running a fully operational spaceflight program which includes space stations in Earth orbit, Lunar colonies, and possibly the potential as the first country to successfully complete human spaceflight to Mars.

So, they could make our putting a man on the moon first seem as significant as our putting a man on the moon made the Soviets putting a man in space first seem.

 

[Artista]

I think the over all picture that seems to be missing from the discussion is that we are witnessing the decline of America. A disfunctional government is one sign and/or cause of the beginning of the end. Politicians would rather line their pockets with cash than make decisions that will keep this country strong. It happens with all empires and powers.

We cannot even pass a immigration bill, much less put a man on the moon.

 

[norseamd]

I think the over all picture that seems to be missing from the discussion is that we are witnessing the decline of America. A disfunctional government is one sign and/or cause of the beginning of the end. Politicians would rather line their pockets with cash than make decisions that will keep this country strong. It happens with all empires and powers.

We cannot even pass a immigration bill, much less put a man on the moon.

http://www.amazon.com/Are-We-Rome-Em...s=fall+of+rome

 

[Craig234]

I think the over all picture that seems to be missing from the discussion is that we are witnessing the decline of America. A disfunctional government is one sign and/or cause of the beginning of the end. Politicians would rather line their pockets with cash than make decisions that will keep this country strong. It happens with all empires and powers.

We cannot even pass a immigration bill, much less put a man on the moon.

It's incorrect to refer to 'politicians lining their pockets with cash' as the problem. While there is a serious problem with politicians and their staffs serving lobbyists so they can move to lobbying when they leave, the amount of money they make by doing so is trivial compared to the amounts involved in the concentration of wealth and power. Watch Eisenhower's powerlessness against the 'military-industrial[-congressional] complex for better example of democracy failing in the face of such economics.

But more than that, it's a cultural shift among many Americans to give up the idea of democracy doing much or being 'their' government and giving power to private money.

 

[squarecut1]

Let's provide decent and affordable health care to the man on the earth first, in that region called USA

 

[MongGrel]

I had forgotten Moon did Helium 3 also.

Watched that last nite and laughed a bit.

 

[MongGrel]

If my "can we put a man on the moon" you mean pay Russia of all places to lift us up to the moon because we dismantled all of our shuttles, then I guess so.

The shuttles were say out of date and needed to be retired.

I used to work on em a bit myself.

You could build something to go to the moon that would be less complex I imagine, the US private sector will be filling that void soon I imagine as far as just getting to the ISS.

 

[silicon]

China is methodically running their space program and they are on a freight train roll towards running a fully operational spaceflight program which includes space stations in Earth orbit, Lunar colonies, and possibly the potential as the first country to successfully complete human spaceflight to Mars.

China is a long way from putting a man on the moon. Their first lunar rover worked for only a couple of hours and was a big failure. It will take 20 years more before they might have a chance at being successful IMHO.

 

[MongGrel]

I went to the Udvar Hazy museum and a lot of folks there think we could not do it today.
There is so single person alive who's so knowledgeable and capable as to make a massive project like that actually work.

Sorry, I'll disagree on this one.

It's regressive, we're plunking things on Mars, ya know ?

 

[norseamd]

China is a long way from putting a man on the moon. Their first lunar rover worked for only a couple of hours and was a big failure. It will take 20 years more before they might have a chance at being successful IMHO.

Umm no. They will probably have their space stations up by the end of this decade. If by 20 years you mean finishing a fully operational and full size lunar base then yes. But they will probably land on the moon earlier than that. Try 2025. We are probably going back also. Whether or not we make it back to the moon first is irrelavent as what actually matters is maintaining a full size spaceflight program at fully operational capacity.

 

[silicon]

Umm no. They will probably have their space stations up by the end of this decade. If by 20 years you mean finishing a fully operational and full size lunar base then yes. But they will probably land on the moon earlier than that. Try 2025. We are probably going back also. Whether or not we make it back to the moon first is irrelavent as what actually matters is maintaining a full size spaceflight program at fully operational capacity.

you forget that the chinese need to steal or buy the technology to get there and lately they are slowing down. Its been several years already since they at least put a man into orbit, the americans did the entire job in 1 decade and they had to invent and test all of their technology, there was no one to steal from. lol.

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

Yes, but it would be a lot more difficult today. Financial considerations, political considerations, and the fact that not many people appreciate how dangerous Apollo was. Such levels of safety would be unacceptable today.

 

[norseamd]

you forget that the chinese need to steal or buy the technology to get there and lately they are slowing down. Its been several years already since they at least put a man into orbit, the americans did the entire job in 1 decade and they had to invent and test all of their technology, there was no one to steal from. lol.

Seems your knowledge on this subject is way off. And no they are not slowing down. In fact they are now speeding up. Aslo the Russians more or less actually won most of the space race and I am assuming both the Americans and Russians stole technology and ideas from each other for all of the cold war.

 

[silicon]

Seems your knowledge on this subject is way off. And no they are not slowing down. In fact they are now speeding up. Aslo the Russians more or less actually won most of the space race and I am assuming both the Americans and Russians stole technology and ideas from each other for all of the cold war.

your knowledge seems short of the mark also.