What is the possible time frame for a colony on the moon? What should it be used for?

[Toastmaster]

We all know about the plan to go back to the moon but after that then what? How long do you think we will stagnate and hold back until we actually start placing people on that reflective satellite? And then what will they be up there for? Research? Mining? Corporations? Technological development?

[yukonmuffin]

Launch site for mars, and who knows? maybe we can colonize it.

[Toastmaster]

True. I moon will obviously be the launch site for any intra-solar missions and possibly inter-solar missions. But I'm pretty sure that it will be a major mining area for the resources it holds (especially for He-3 which can be used for energy) before it becomes that

[Diogenes]

I doubt the moon will ever be used in the near future for habitation or as a space pop off...

more than likely we'll build bigger and better space stations.

Possibly another one orbiting Mars.

It's simply easier and more efficient...because you don't have to land and take off...you just dock. Easier to build and easier to supply.

I think the most probable approach would be to build a space station in each planetary orbit...this way we can re-supply, re-fuel, etc without ever having to land and take off.

And we can skip our way along from one station to the next.

Eventually we may build stations on planets...but I don't see it as a viable solution at this point.

[Toastmaster]

Then resources it is then. The moon will definitely be used as a resource base. The He-3 it contains is invaluable. And the many minerals composing it could be used for manufacturing materials.

[kancer kid]

The moon should definetely be used for resources. But I also think it should be used as a base to launch missions, say to Mars, the asteroid belt, and beyond. It would be cheaper to launch there because of the lower gravitational pull.

Of course, if we used nuclear powered ships, this wouldn't really be a matter of contention, since it would take much less time to get to Mars, it would be cheaper, and the space progam could do a lot more.

[Ender]

All of the above and more. We should have started a long time ago. In fact, I would propose we restructure our economy and military toward space exploration and encourage other countries to do the same.

[Angry Citizen]

I think the future of manned space exploration needs to take place through companies. Once I'm done with my aerospace degree, I intend to apply to a commercial space company in the hopes that it'll finally get off the ground (literally). History shows that the true trailblazers are entrepreneurial individuals seeking new ground.

Colonies will follow when there is work to be done. Imagine mining Mars for resources. With a non-molten core, you could conceivably dig much, much deeper for resources.

[Sapien]

Well if history has taught us anything it's that machines are far more preferable than humans. If indeed (as Toast mentioned) Helium-3 is worth getting, we'll probably put some machines on the moon. If there's something on Mars, we might put machines there too. I doubt very much that we'll ever see large-scale colonization of another planet. Not in the near future, anyway.

Machines need fuel (and sometimes maintenance). Humans need food, clothing, shelter, waste disposal, medicine, entertainment, etc. It is *much* more expensive to send humans ANYWHERE than it is to send a machine.. plus, while the citizenry will take a bunch of disabled machines, they don't look too kindly on dead astronauts. Even if they're corporate. Probably.

Also, consider the implications of such a mining operation.. first you train the techs. This alone costs millions of dollars. Then you transport them and their gear to the planet, which is more expensive AND risky. I don't know of anyone mass-producing spaceships. Anyway, assuming they arrive safely they still have to set up a secure base camp and do the actual mining.. dealing with foreign terrain, far away from outside assistance. Once THIS is done, the resource must be loaded back onto the ship -- exactly how big is this ship? How much cargo can it hold? How much fuel does it take to get back to earth with tens of thousands of pounds of ore?

Sounds awfully cost-prohibitive to me. In order for an entity to make a profit, the ship would have to be.. well, big. Huge. Massive! Even bigger than massive. Gargantuan?

Simply put, I think a major mining operation is out of the question. A small research colony, however.. definitely possible. And as for actually settling on another planet -- I'm aware that no one (that I saw) brought this up, but SOMEONE probably would. Won't happen. Shouldn't happen. Short of Earth BLOWING UP (and somehow not taking the moon out too) there will never be a reason to set up another home on another planet. We have plenty of inhospitable and uninhabited places on earth that we can live in if we so choose. The ocean, for example.

[Jack]

The mining or colonization of another planet would most likely only happen one of two ways, either through international cooperation or by a single country by fiat. <sarcasm>We've seen how well various nations work together for the common good; the United Nations is a roaring success. </sarcasm> If one nation claims sovereignty by fiat, wouldn't that bring about more wars and international disputes over the right to do so? The only example we have of an international agreement to share resources is Antarctica. If that continent were good for anything more than scientific exploration into climate I'm reasonably sure there would be more contention over the restrictions on any one nation to claim it as theirs.

[yukonmuffin]

You know you've been online too long when you <tag> your sarcasm

[The Black Ghost]

Because its cool.

Lets be honest, beneath it all, thats the real reason we're doing all this.



I dont blame them.