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Quote by: Scribbler1  That depends on if they send this probe to the same locations the Apollo missions went to. I don't know anything about this probe, but considering the enormous cost of sending ANYTHING to the Moon it doesn't make too much sense to hit the same spot again.
As for regular expeditions to the Moon, I would think there would be a point where they start sending the vehicles from orbit and just send the crew up to fly it. I see no reason to not make the ISS bigger (or a different orbiting facility entirely) and assembling the vehicles in space. |
True. However.. there may be advantages to going back to a previously visited site. It depends on what was discovered at those places.
The cost of getting there & back can be drastically reduced, simply by using a shuttle that runs between earth orbit & lunar orbit. That vehicle need never be built to withstand the stress of leaving our atmosphere.. or blasting back through on return.. so the craft can be box shaped (if needed) - or any economical configuration of shapes.. no air friction problems..
Also, any loads leaving the moon could be launched into lunar orbit via an electrically powered (solar maybe?) "railroad" that is built along a correctly sloping hill.. it only takes about 3,600 mph to depart the moon.. no big deal really.. especially since there is no atmosphere to contend with. It could even send a load to earth orbit.
As for fusion power.. yes.. fusion is the way to the future. The moon is a good place.. a very good place for developing advanced technologies. Low grav, nearly perfect vacuum.. probably water (ice) at poles.. or under the surface. With fusion technology.. the planets will be very much easier to reach, and speed is the key. With cheap & basically unlimited amounts of energy.. it will be a breeze.