UK mission to moon?

[alokmohan]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4782881.stm,UK aspires to be 4th nation on moon.

 

[qso1]

Link didn't work, got a 404 from the BBC. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[nacnud]

UK seeks role in Moon missions<br />BBC News<br /><br />UK scientists are vying to play a key role in China's plans to explore the Moon with robotic spacecraft.<br /><br />British space scientists visited the country earlier this year to discuss building scientific instruments for the second phase of China's lunar missions.

 

[3488]

It is great to see that Britain will be involved with something like this.<br /><br />China, along with India will forge ahead with this & shock the world with their capabilities, no matter what (I have personal reasons for saying that), just wait & see, you will see that I am correct.<br /><br />I would like to see the UK, USA, Japan, EU, India & China to Co-Operate on this & not just run independent parrallel programmes.<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[alokmohan]

Inernational colllaboration is necessary for these prohibitively costly projects.But national "ego" inhibits.

 

[tohaki]

Wouldn't ESA technically be #3 when SMART-1 impacts?

 

[bojanm]

how much estimated cost is for a lunar mission?

 

[qso1]

The U.S. Apollo program was $26 B dollars from 1961 to 1972. Thats basically the only one for which there is a well known cost estimate. The former Soviet Union probably spent a bundle on their manned lunar efforts in the 1960s, only to see it go up in the flames of four N-1 failures. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[bojanm]

didn't they mention something like 50 bil the only thing i don't remeber was that for Mard or Moon but i presume it was for Moon.Mars sholud cost a lot more...

 

[qso1]

Virtually all sources from the time period I've ever seen including books, magazines, TV all agree that the moon was done for $25 to $26 billion. I have seen current sources state the moon was done for around $130 billion dollars and this is accurate because the current sources are accounting for what inflation has done to the $25 billion dollar price tag since 1970. Whenever I see budget numbers, I check them against what inflation has done to see how accurate the numbers are. In the late 1960s, Mars was estimated to be around $100 billion as estimated for the Von Braun plan floating around then. The 1990 G Bush estimate for the lunar mars plans he was proposing then, was $500 Billion but this included the lunar base as well.<br /><br />Zubrins "Mars Direct" was the estimate you may be recalling. His plan was estimated by him to cost around $20 billion. NASA revised the plan, calling it 'Mars semi direct" and that plan was said by NASA to be doable for $50 billion.<br /><br />Of course, the estimate will invariably go up in this day and age of cost overruns whether planned or unplanned.<br /><br />Even at $200 billion in todays dollars, a mars plan for that price would have come in at around $40 billion in the late 1960s. A bargain compaired to the plan being proposed by Von Braun. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[bojanm]

hmmm numbers really drastically vary<br />so that 50 bil was for Mars mission then<br />do you know maybe what figures circle today for moon and base if its still about hundered of billions i doubt we gonna see it anytime soon<br />and what about a cost for landing only on moon?<br />thanks for replays

 

[qso1]

Your right, the figures do vary quite a bit. The reason for this is the type of concept being proposed and the fact much of the expense is for technical expertise which is rarely itemized AFAIK in these estimates.<br /><br />The Apollo estimate has not varied much because its pretty much known how much was spent on that.<br /><br />I have yet to see a fairly firm estimate of the cost of todays program plans for lunar and mars. One way to have a sort of guide I suppose is that the lunar program is supposed to be developed within NASAs current budget framework which is why some important science programs either get the ax or canceled altogether. It should be possible to get a fairly firm estimate of the lunar program by now. Mars is still too ill defined to get a reasonable estimate for.<br /><br />The old 1969 Von Braun plan was estimated at $100 B 1969 dollars but called for two NTR powered mother ships with a crew of 12 per ship. What Robert Zubrin would later call the Battlestar Gallactica approach to mars missions. Zubrins approach was to send out a lander ahead of the crew. The lander lands, manufactures propellant for an earth return vehicle. Zubrins bare bones plans eliminated a mother ship altogether, thus no nuclear propulsion system required. His initial estimate was $20B dollars in 1994 or so IIRC.<br /><br />And this reflects the vast differences in the two mens approaches to getting people to Mars, the types of missions ect.<br /><br />Same will applie for the moon. And since we will still be dealing largely with traditional approaches to getting there, that is government vs private industry. Its safe to say the current lunar plans will slowly get up to around probaby at least $50 B dollars over perhaps 15 years.<br /><br />Its not yet known what it might cost a private corporation such as Scaled Composites to do a lunar mission or base. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[qso1]

bojanm:<br />do you know maybe what figures circle today for moon and base if its still about hundered of billions i doubt we gonna see it anytime soon <br />and what about a cost for landing only on moon?<br /><br />Me:<br />I wanted to say one other thing more specifically related to your question. Well know soon enough on cost because eventually the OMB watchdogs will publish any estimates and NASA will have to inform them of costs as each new budget is drawn up. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[bojanm]

and 2015 is not so far away too<br />so pretty soon we sholud know it

 

[alokmohan]

Prohibitively costly.

 

[qso1]

Costly yes, but I wouldn't say prohibitively costly considering the government is all too willing to waste money in Iraq and on deficit spending. Seems to be no prohibitively costly mark for that. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[alokmohan]

Can you give me idea of cost of both of these thing?Iraq war has of course one economical side.America gets control of oil and effectivively controls global economy.Going moon may not yield easy return.

 

[MeteorWayne]

America will never get control of middle east oil. If that is the purpose of Iraq invasion, all those billions are wasted.<br />I'd rather spend my money on a trip to the moon. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>