Thursday, September 1, 2011

Destination: Moon or Asteroid? | The Once and Future Moon


Destination: Moon or Asteroid? | The Once and Future Moon

Paul Spudis has an interesting blog with interesting links within and some interesting comments about.
You can read and I won't even have to mention the "M" word.
- LRK -

This from his Facebook post.
Maybe you are already following him.
- LRK -

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P. Spudis: However, detailed consideration indicates that NEOs are not the best choice as our next destination in space. In this post and two additional ones to come, I will consider some of the operational, scientific and resource utilization issues that arise in planning NEO missions and exploration activities and compare them to the lunar alternative.
Part I:  Operational Considerations
The current controversy over the direction of our national space program has many dimensions but most  of the discourse has focused on the means (government vs. commercial launch vehicles) not the ends (destinations and activities).  Near-Earth objects (NEO, i.e., asteroids) became the next destination for human exploration as an alternative to the Moon when the Augustine committee advocated a “flexible path” in their 2009 report.  The reason for going to an asteroid instead of the Moon was that it costs too much money to develop a lunar lander whereas asteroids, having extremely low surface gravity, don’t require one.  The administration embraced and supported this change in direction and since then, the agency has been studying possible NEO missions and how to conduct them. 
snip
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Part II here with Part III still to be written.
- LRK -

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P. Spudis: Of course, science being unpredictable, some major surprise that could revolutionize our knowledge may await us on some distant asteroid. But such surprises doubtless await us in many places throughout the Solar System and the best way to assure ourselves that we will eventually find them is to develop the capability to go anywhere in space at any time.
Part II:  Scientific Considerations
In my last post, I examined some of the operational considerations associated with a human mission to a near Earth asteroid and how it contrasted with the simpler, easier operations of lunar return.  Here, I want to consider what we might do at this destination by focusing on the scientific activities and possible return we could expect from such a mission.  Some of the operational constraints mentioned in the previous post will impact the scientific return we expect from a human NEO mission. 
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As noted at the Smithsonian Air & Space blogs.
- LRK -

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See, no stuttering about why we should go back to the M. mo.. moo... moon - oh well you get my point. 
Having spent some 20 years supporting NASA with off and on stuttering about further Lunar exploration I had hoped we would not have to hold a finger to our mouth with a shhhhh as the expression, if developing the resources of our nearest neighbor in space was the topic.

I guess you folks will have to take it upon yourself to change that.  
Maybe just a nudge, nudge to your neighbor and an extended arm pointing to a Harvest Moon will help.

Then maybe a whisper, "I wonder what it would be like to be up there looking back at us here on Earth?"

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[And as NASA once said. - LRK -]

Why Go to the Moon?
National Aeronautics & Space Administration

 At the core of NASA’s future in space exploration is a return to the moon, where we will build technologies. Living and working on the moon will provide opportunities for research and technology development that will prepare humans for further human exploration to Mars and beyond.  

snip

Exploration Preparation
Lunar exploration provides opportunities 
to test new technologies, experience 
living on extraterrestrial surfaces and learn 
ways to use resources found in space – all 
with the goal of safely preparing crews 
for missions to Mars and beyond. 
snip
[Nice poster. Get it now before it is removed and history rewritten. - LRK -]
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And if you have a lot of paper, print this out. (Circa 2006)

And someone said, "Been there, ........."]  !!!

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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK -

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