Will we ever have a base on the Moon?

CH (MAJ) William Beaver — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 14:58:11 -0400

Space 1999 was science fiction. It was written from the idea that we would have at least a base on the moon. Then came Apollo 13. Then came budget cuts. Then came the Space Shuttle and the ISS (not to be confused with ISIS). 1999 came and went and the only really big events that year was the Y2K scare and the brief re-emergence of The Artist Formerly Known As Prince or Whatever He is Going By Today.

But I wonder, will we ever have a real base on the Moon? What do you think? What would be its purpose?

Response by CH (MAJ) William Beaver made Jul 31 at 2015 2:59 PM

CH (MAJ) William Beaver — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 14:59:01 -0400

Geeks unite!

Response by Capt Richard I P. made Jul 31 at 2015 3:05 PM

Capt Richard I P. — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 15:05:09 -0400

Yes. Its primary purpose initially will be scientific experimentation (just like the ISS) and telescopes without much atmosphere. Eventually I expect it to grow into tourism and mining. Long term we probably wont go much past the moon in biological form.

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Jul 31 at 2015 3:23 PM

MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 15:23:49 -0400

Why so we can make crime, racism, hatred and 1 percent-ism interstellar and intergalactic issues? I'd say no until we can clean up our own planet. I can see it now, the first homeless man on the moon with a squeegee and a sign, "Will work for oxygen" :-)

Response by SPC Carl K. made Jul 31 at 2015 3:28 PM

SPC Carl K. — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 15:28:53 -0400

As soon as I saw the photo, and before I read your entry, I recognized that immediately as Moon Base Alpha from Space: 1999. I loved that show as a kid! Anyway, with the direction NASA has been going with budget cuts, mission changes, etc., I really do not see this happening in my lifetime, t least not by NASA. We also have the people who would rather see the money that would be spent for this used elsewhere, most likely for social programs. The only way we would likely see this would be if it was done by a foreign government, or private corporation. The private corporation option would not surprise me at all with the way so many things in government are being contracted out.

Response by SGT Jeremiah B. made Jul 31 at 2015 3:41 PM

SGT Jeremiah B. — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 15:41:59 -0400

I think we will. We have all of the tech to create a sustainable base there, but we need to sort out gravitation issues first. Moon gravity may still be way too low to support human life long-term.

Response by SPC Jeffrey Bly made Jul 31 at 2015 3:50 PM

SPC Jeffrey Bly — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 15:50:51 -0400

I think a moon based telescope is a great idea. Mining for sure. As was mentioned, Gravity is significantly better than the ISS, so we will be able to habitate it longer. I believe our goal should be to start building a ship that will host many generations and find a habitable planet in another star system.

Response by PO3 Steven Sherrill made Jul 31 at 2015 4:08 PM

PO3 Steven Sherrill — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 16:08:09 -0400

No. It is not necessary, would be a huge waste of funds with little return on investment. We have only explored a small percentage of our ocean floors. We should explore our own planet before we start expansion outward. Besides we cannot control pollution ans destruction of the environment here and now. Why build a moon station that will simply add to the problem. Or worse vent into space. That is not a meteor storm I want to deal with. Imagine the poor bastard who gets killed by a flaming diaper from space. What a shitty way to die.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 31 at 2015 4:10 PM

MSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 16:10:31 -0400

The UFO series was based 10 years prior to Space 1999 - as a covert operation

Response by SGT Christopher Hamman made Jul 31 at 2015 4:28 PM

SGT Christopher Hamman — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 16:28:57 -0400

Actually, a base on the moom could be really useful for our exploration of the rest of our solar system and beyond, because thanks to its low gravity, it would be an ideal environment for the construction and testing of the larger vehicles and systems that would be needed for those much longer voyages. It would be infinitely cheaper to build a craft on the moon, in near-zero G, than it would be to build it at JPL and launch it into orbit. The problem of finding a sufficient source of O2 is one that is similar to the problem of traditional physics viewing the speed of light (c) as a physically unreachable speed. Both of them appear to be insurmountable propblems from the viewpoint of current science and technology. But one more breakthrough may be all we need to put both solutions in east reach. Or two. Or three. Or four hundred. We won't know until we get there, and then we'll look back and exclaim how stupid we were for not seeing it long ago.

Response by SSG Ed Mikus made Jul 31 at 2015 4:39 PM

SSG Ed Mikus — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 16:39:45 -0400

i bet we have one on Mars or some other planet before our own moon

Response by COL Mikel J. Burroughs made Jul 31 at 2015 5:00 PM

COL Mikel J. Burroughs — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 17:00:21 -0400

CH (MAJ) William Beaver I would totally be for this. Do we know for a fact that none of the minerals on the moon could be harvested for alternative fuels? I think a base on the moon could have helped scientist understand more about its's origin and composition (first hand observation). I just like space travel and thought of such things. I think we gave up too soon on colonizing the moon and establishing life type operations. Just my two cents.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jul 31 at 2015 5:34 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 17:34:02 -0400

I Ken Landgren will plant the flag of the United States on behalf of our president, and claim the moon as our territory.

Response by MSgt James Mullis made Jul 31 at 2015 5:46 PM

MSgt James Mullis — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 17:46:52 -0400

Yes, but it will probably be a remotely operated Helium-3 mine. You may not know it, but China 's Lunar exploration program already has a lander on the moon and their "Chang’e 5" test vehicle just successfully conducted a lunar orbital rendezvous to rehearse China’s first mission to return lunar samples to Earth. Which is expected to occur in 2017. They are basically at the Apollo 8 stage with a full set of missions in the wings.

Response by Cpl Tou Lee Yang made Jul 31 at 2015 9:24 PM

Cpl Tou Lee Yang — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 21:24:11 -0400

It will happen, eventually. But not in our lifetime.

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Jul 31 at 2015 11:37 PM

SFC Mark Merino — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 23:37:41 -0400

Where do you think I am replying from?

Response by SSgt Charles Edwards made Aug 1 at 2015 12:03 AM

SSgt Charles Edwards — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 00:03:27 -0400

There was a movie about why we haven't been back. It may be fiction, but it does pose an interesting question: is there some kind of funky alien lifeform there that NASA, Homeland Security and the White House don't want us to know about?

Response by PO1 John Miller made Aug 2 at 2015 5:31 AM

PO1 John Miller — Sun, 02 Aug 2015 05:31:11 -0400

Don't you know the moon landing was faked? :)

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Aug 4 at 2015 4:59 PM

LTC Stephen F. — Tue, 04 Aug 2015 16:59:22 -0400

CH (MAJ) William Beaver, I think there are many conspiracy theorists that believe we have had a base on the moon for years and that we are either partying with the aliens we have met on the Dark Side of The Moon [shout out to Pink Floyd] or we are interrogating them :-)
In the days of the race to space primarily between the USA and the USSR, there were discussions about rights to the moon for mineral harvesting, etc. We planed a flag there. Later some earth=-based body determined and ruled that the moon belonged to nobody and that no nation could claim it. I can't remember if that was before or after you could pay for the rights to name a star :-)
One major use for a moon base could be a weapons platform to target and destroy asteroids hurtling towards the earth well before they entered the earth's atmosphere and hopefully before they entered they solar system [future]
Another primarily medical use could be research into positive and negative effects on the human body by extended periods of reduced gravity - impact on cardiovascular system, muscle, tendon and ligament health and repair, near weightless surgery, development and manufacture of medicines, etc.

Response by SN Greg Wright made Aug 15 at 2015 8:22 PM

SN Greg Wright — Sat, 15 Aug 2015 20:22:40 -0400

CH (MAJ) William Beaver I think it's inevitable. Mankind either gets off this planet, or we'll go extinct, eventually. And with the discovery of water on the moon, it will make an excellent (eventual) starting point for further exploration of the solar system. Just not Mars. It actually takes less delta-v to insert into a martian orbit than a lunar one, so basing up the moon solely for mars would be redundant and uneconomical.