ISS NEW ASSIGNMENT

[SPAHSFAR]

I sent the following to NASA, what do you think?

What about this? Why not send the ISS to an orbit around the Moon and on to
Mars!!? Just fit a slow accelerating engine(Shuttle delivery), haul in the
solar panels temporarily if neccessary, reinforce the structure somewhat and
off you go with a ready made long term interplanetary vehicle. A Lunar
Landing Module along with supplies, oxygen, food, fuel, spare parts, etc,
could probably be delivered by Shuttle before making the trip or sent by
remotely controlled rocket to Moon orbit to rondevous with the ISS which
would also be very appropriate as Mothership during Moon exploration. The
ISS is already a proven vehicle for long term periods of living in space and
we have lots of astronauts with plenty of experience, it would also allow
for a more flexible schedule to be planned.
I really would be grateful if you would let me know if you see any merit in
this proposal.
I am a 72 year old Irishman and I have been following Space Exploration
since long before the Moon Landing. I was thrilled to see Neil Armstrong in
the flesh in Dublin some years ago when he was interviewed by Gay Byrne. I
follow all your activities on the Internet. I wish you all the best for the
future.
Regards,

 

[matthewota]

The ISS depends on regular resupply from cargo ships such as the Progress and the European ATV. If the ISS were moved out to lunar orbit they would need to make larger rockets to get supplies out to that distance. The same problem for crew rotation, you would have to invest heavily in spacecraft to get out to lunar orbit and swap out a crew of six.

In addition, and most importantly, the ISS simply is not designed to operate safely outside of the Earth's protective magnetosphere. The ISS lacks the shielding necessary to protect the crew from dangerous solar flares and coronal mass ejections from the Sun.

In addition, the current political and economic situation in the United States is making it difficult to even do what NASA wants with its Constellation program.

 

[Swampcat]

Mods, is this an appropriate place for this thread?