how long before we reach the moon again any predictions (explorer, support)

[EDDIEISTAZ]

I am seeing nowadays more and more flights by nasa how long in you peoples mind will it take them to setup a lab in mars and how long will it be before we send anothere maned ship to the moon?

[gy2020]

It's all up to Pres-Elect Obama. If he supports NASA then Moon by 2020 and Mars by 2030. If he decides to cut NASA budget then push back the numbers 10-20 years.

[Noahma]

Originally Posted by gy2020

It's all up to Pres-Elect Obama. If he supports NASA then Moon by 2020 and Mars by 2030. If he decides to cut NASA budget then push back the numbers 10-20 years.

the last article I read, he had thoughts about moving NASA into the military. I think that would significantly increase the funding?
He is still pushing for the deadline to the moon and beyond set by Bush

[K-Luv]

Moderator cut: orphaned

Now as for the moon, fairly soon. The technology and know-how are already in place so it would be more of a matter of selecting the mission and training the teams.

[gy2020]

lol

[rcarrillo]

I just read that Obama was briefed by the dissenters over at NASA that want an alternative to the Ares/Constellation program. They still want the Orion crew capsule to go to space, the moon and mars... but they propose a slightly different launch system.

One that borrowers more from the current shuttle rockets and so would be cheaper/faster to develop than building a new rocket and testing it. There are benefits to both approachs, but with the budget shortfall and coming gap in US ability to launch manned missions, cheaper/faster might be better than a whole new system.

I think the chances of Geroge the 2nds return to Moon/vogage to Mars plans working are about as likely as Geroge the 1sts plans to get us to Mars. Bold statements and trying to capture Kennedy, but with a weak follow through and little popular and political support. Its sad that we first went to the moon in 1969.... its going to be 40 years soon and we have taken "one giant leap for mankind" backwards in space exploration since then.

Vastly superior technology but the US has lost the interest and sense of adventure to make the trip. If Columbus, Lewis and Clark and other explorers were around today, they would never make it out the door with paperwork, risk analysis and budget cutbacks.

[BLAZER PROPHET]

The moon? Been there, done that, bought the moon rock.

We have no justification on spending hundreds of millions of dollars to see some guy hop around on the moon. It has little bearing to making our lives any better.

[20yrsinBranson]

Well, as a dyed in the wool conspiracy theorist, I would say that using the term "again" is being optimistic at best.

Personally, I have two very conflicting and pardoxical thoughts about this. The first being; we never went to the moon in the first place. and secondly; we went to the moon but there were aliens there who told us to get off and never come back.

LOL I would say that there are more important things to spend billions of dollars on and hopefully the new administration will agree.

20yrsinBranson

Originally Posted by EDDIEISTAZ

I am seeing nowadays more and more flights by nasa how long in you peoples mind will it take them to setup a lab in mars and how long will it be before we send anothere maned ship to the moon?

[el borracho]

too long NASA is 20-30 years behind ,stop and think for a minute we landed on the moon in 69 and nothing has really happend since we last left the moon

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by el borracho

too long NASA is 20-30 years behind ,stop and think for a minute we landed on the moon in 69 and nothing has really happend since we last left the moon

It took what, ten years to go from nothing, nada, zilch to landing a few people on the Moon and than bringing them back. That is quite the accomplishment. I don't care if it has been 100 years since we last went to the Moon; that know-how, technology, and all around brain power did not go anywhere. Just because we haven't been back does not mean that we forgot how to.

We went to the Moon because Russia 'threatened' to do the same. It was a political statement as much as anything else that the Moon mission stood for. Now that other countries are developing space programs (some with the intentions of reaching the Moon) the US is once again getting the itch.