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Scifi and Fantasy Forum: Sci-Fi and Fantasy General Discussions: Where should NASA go?
Where should NASA go?
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Posted By:  Aeawyn Dec 22, 2004 - 08:42 am |       | http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/21/science/space/21plan.html?ex=1103864400&en=df414be69ea8214c&ei=5070
the answer 
| Posted By: Magus Dec 22, 2004 - 09:35 am | | YAY! LINK!
***ClickClickClick***
| Posted By: Nomad Dec 22, 2004 - 06:23 pm | | Well! There ya go then!
| Posted By: woody000 Dec 27, 2004 - 12:28 am | | Im afraid Im another Europa nut =p Id rather they went there first, then mars after.
| Posted By: Magus Dec 27, 2004 - 06:53 am | | Mars would be much less strain on the cost. It has much more potential for colonization and could be used as a port to further explore the mysteries of space. The moon could be used as a cheap and efficient refuel/launching station. It would be far more difficult, especially without Mars or the Moon as aid, to go all the way to Europa, especially with today's technology. I think that Mars and The Moon are the first to steps to efficient space travel. We should do things right the first time and not have to look back and wince.
No offense meant. Sorry if you took offense.
| Posted By: woody000 Dec 27, 2004 - 07:57 am | | Maybe. A station from which to launch missions outside of the Earth's atmosphere is a must certainly.
okay i have fallen a bit behind since i havnt watched tv but been working a lot, can anyone shortly explain where what
Europa is ? (im guesing a planet about same size of earth or a large moon a bit less/larger than earth)
and for the moon i agree on some kind of station,
also a question, do we have anything that can generate gravity inside shuttles yet? because if we have i was thinking about having about 1000-2000 voulenteers for a space station in between earth and the moon.
again i have some pretty wild ideas for a lot of stuff but im guessing we need some wild ideas and we need to take risks of course we need to be safe
but we deffeneatly need to take more risks ! else we're gonna be stuck here for too long, agree?
| Posted By: woody000 Dec 27, 2004 - 12:41 pm | | In theory if you spin a ship at exactly the right speed you could produce gravity. In practise, itd be hard to control, and expensive to produce and run.
| Posted By: Nomad Dec 28, 2004 - 06:38 am | | Like the ship in Mission to mrs.
| Posted By: Magus Dec 28, 2004 - 09:22 am | | Europa is a moon of, I think, Jupiter, although it may be Saturn or Uranus.
Thnaks Magus now it makes a bit more sense to me why mars would be closer and stuff.
| Posted By: Qray Dec 29, 2004 - 12:07 am | | Europa is a moon of the planet Jupiter. While there may be closer and more important places for NASA to concentrate it's immediate attention on, it holds promise. It's possible that Europa has liquid oceans under it's frozen and cracked crust. Which has given light to speculation that life may exist there.
NASA has some good information on the Europa that it collected from the Galileo Mission at JPL.
As woody000 said, creating rotating sections to produce artificial gravity is expensive.
However, (as quoted in Leonard David's space.com article,) "...the idea has started to emerge that a short radius centrifuge contained within a spacecraft may be far more attractive. You go into it for a workout. You get your G-tolerance buildup for a certain period of time, daily or a few times a week. That started to sound attractive to the engineers."
The full article can be found be found at Artificial Gravity: A New Spin on an Old Idea
I think the first step to a permanent human presence is already being taken with the International Space Station. To me the next logical step would be a permanent moon base (assuming suitable mineral resources exist on the moon to utialize.) It's closer than Mars which means it's cheaper and safer. There is no reason to rush off to Mars just to say "Hey! We went to Mars!" Keep sending unmanned probes there and learn as much as we can so that when we DO go to Mars we can maximize the effort. In the meantime, build orbital launch facilities and a permanent presence on the Moon.
But it's a hard sell. Why go to the moon and mine when you can do it cheaper and easier on Earth? Why build orbital stations or moon bases for living space when we can just knock down a few trees and build another McMansion?
Then again, think of how far we've come in such a short period of time. Less than a century since October 4, 1957. Less than fifty years since we first tried to leave the cradle. Less than fifty years since Sputnik.
Not bad.
(Q)
| Posted By: Magus Dec 29, 2004 - 05:50 am | | I agree with how you propose NASA should explore space. There's no rush. It should be done the safest and most efficient ways possible.
I remember reading an article a while back on colonizing Mars and they mentioned that centrifuge room idea. It's hard to believe I forgot that... well, not really when you consider it was ablurb in the article I read about five years ago in some stupid Weekly Reader or something like that our school gave out.
So, I guess it's more "I can't believe I remembered that" more then "I can't believe that I didn't".
| Posted By: Qray Dec 30, 2004 - 07:25 pm | | There are of course, other options for space exploration. Such as Mojave Aerospace Ventures, Bigelow Aerospace, and Virgin Galactic. All of which are pursing their own paths to space.
A few months ago, when Mojave Aerospace Ventures (MAV) SpaceShipOne was winning the Ansari X Prize, Robert Bigelow announced his plans for America's Space Prize. According to Aviation Week and Space Technology, Bigelow, a Nevada millionaire and chief of Las Vegas-based Bigelow Aerospace, is "setting higher goals for private spaceflight endeavors" with America's Space Prize. A $50 million race to build an orbital vehicle capable of carrying up to seven astronauts to an orbital outpost by the end of the decade.
Bigelow told Aviation Week that not only would America's Space Prize winners secure the $50 million purse, half of which he's putting up himself, but they'd also snag options to service inflatable space habitats under development by Bigelow Aerospace.
"Much like the Ansari X Prize, America's Space Prize would require participants to demonstrate a quick turn around in their launch capabilities," Bigelow said.
Bigelow's plan would challenge teams to build spacecraft capable of more than just suborbital hops (like the Ansari Prize,) such as maneuvering and docking abilities with Bigelow habitats more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) above Earth and reentering the Earth's atmosphere at 17,500 miles (28,163 kilometers) an hour, Aviation Week stated. The first test version of Bigelow's inflatable modules is expected to launch in November 2005.
On another front, British entrepreneur Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic company plans to launch commercial space flights over the next few years. Virgin plans to build aircraft based on Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne vessel and expects to fly 3,000 new astronauts within five years. Fares will start at 115,000 pounds (US$208,000, €169,000) for a suborbital flight, including three days' training.
A little out of my price range, but it could be a good first step to inexpensive space travel in the future. I just hope that once the novelty wares off and all the people that can actually afford to take a trip on one of Virgin Galactic's aircraft have done so, it doesn't turn into another "Concorde."
| Posted By: Magus Dec 30, 2004 - 08:10 pm | | Sounds promising. I just hopes it all turns out well. There's no telling what can come from this, so we can only hope for the best.
Has anyone read that short story where the experimental spacecraft pilot is captured by aliens on his first test flight in a new orbital "space plane" and he is told that if any atomic powered craft leaves Earth atmosphere again, the planet will be destroyed for environmental reasons? This post just reminded me about it.
| Posted By: Magus Jan 18, 2005 - 05:56 pm | | What's the title? Who's the author?
| Posted By: Aldan Jan 18, 2005 - 05:56 pm | | Yes, I think I have... but don't remember who it was written by or how long it was. It's possible that the theme was used in a novel or two as well...
I don't remember the title or the author, but I think it was in the Classic Book of Science Fiction, edited by Groff Conklin. I'm not sure about that though.
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