A compelling reason to go back to the moon...

[jbombelli]

And an Iron Sky reference?

YES!

 

[printcraft]

These tubes are either one of two things:
A. what the aliens use to get around inside of the hollow moon.
B. the exhaust nozzles from the engines the aliens used to push the moon into orbit around the earth.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

Because when I hear "Lava Tube", I automatically think "safe place to live".

"Sorry for your loss, sir, but you don't have the "Molten Rock Geyser" endorsement on your home-owner's policy"

 

[Thor]

A. Iron Sky...awesome show.

B. To the OP...why do we need a compelling reason? We went to the moon and the nation turned away in boredom. No one will care about this Japanese discovery.

We are the first species to stalk the face of this planet that has a chance of forestalling it's extinction. It is sad that we had the chance to walk among the stars but have instead chosen to stare at our hands with twitter and faceplant. As it stands when alien or future species archeologists dig up the remains of what passes for our civilization they will look at themselves and say, "they had space travel...WTF happened to them? Why did they die out when they had the technology to save themselves?" The answer: because they didn't care enough to pay attention. They were self obsessed whiners who wouldn't do the work...or embrace the adventure. Welcome to oblivion.

 

[Benp]

To drop off Hillary?

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

We are the first species to stalk the face of this planet that has a chance of forestalling it's extinction.

I don't see it that way. We may be the only species to briefly leave the earth and then come back. But I'm not at all sure that we're any more able to forestall our extinction than any other species.

 

[Thor]

I don't see it that way. We may be the only species to briefly leave the earth and then come back. But I'm not at all sure that we're any more able to forestall our extinction than any other species.

Because we stopped and decided silly irrelevant poo is more interesting (yawn, what's that space stuff worth). We certainly can't now, now that everyone is so self obsessed about trivial crap we are no deeper into space then we were decades ago. If a new Yucatan Impactor was screaming in most of today's digital idiots would be sitting on the roof live streaming their destruction as if it mattered and anyone would care. As I said, we had a chance; at this point not so much.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

Because we stopped and decided silly irrelevant poo is more interesting (yawn, what's that space stuff worth). We certainly can't now, now that everyone is so self obsessed about trivial crap we are no deeper into space then we were decades ago. If a new Yucatan Impactor was screaming in most of today's digital idiots would be sitting on the roof live streaming their destruction as if it mattered and anyone would care. As I said, we had a chance; at this point not so much.

I agree with you on that. I read an article not long ago where the author discussed the probability that humankind had passed the point where there were enough resources for any nation to develop the kind of space exploration program that could lead to colonization of other planets.

 

[Thor]

We'd definitely need to mine the asteroid belt for that. That we aren't doing so already I find to be a great disappointment. It does reinforce my general faith in humanity though...

 

[WebSnyper]

A. Iron Sky...awesome show.

B. To the OP...why do we need a compelling reason? We went to the moon and the nation turned away in boredom. No one will care about this Japanese discovery.

We are the first species to stalk the face of this planet that has a chance of forestalling it's extinction. It is sad that we had the chance to walk among the stars but have instead chosen to stare at our hands with twitter and faceplant. As it stands when alien or future species archeologists dig up the remains of what passes for our civilization they will look at themselves and say, "they had space travel...WTF happened to them? Why did they die out when they had the technology to save themselves?" The answer: because they didn't care enough to pay attention. They were self obsessed whiners who wouldn't do the work...or embrace the adventure. Welcome to oblivion.

Well, I'll say this... not sure I want the govt spending a ton of $$ to get to the stars (beyond what is needed from a defense perspective). Not opposed to private industry, etc doing so.

 

[snorko]

Well, I'll say this... not sure I want the govt spending a ton of $$ to get to the stars (beyond what is needed from a defense perspective).

It'll be the corporations and the Chinese.

Love "Iron Sky", it's on Netflix now.

Time to re-read The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Heinlein.

 

[Thor]

Well, I'll say this... not sure I want the govt spending a ton of $$ to get to the stars (beyond what is needed from a defense perspective). Not opposed to private industry, etc doing so.

Infrastructure has been a government responsibility since before Rome built the Apia Way, everything else is up for debate. The roadways were first, then the airways...now maybe space. But it needs to make economic sense. The asteroid belt would probably generate significant payback...maybe enough to start thinking about those other planets and stars. And yes, private industry should step unto the breach once the way is open as it is pretty much now.

 

[IndyTom]

Letting the corporations manage space travel is how we get Aliens scenarios or people being suffocated like Total Recall or The Expanse...

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

Letting the corporations manage space travel is how we get Aliens scenarios or people being suffocated like Total Recall or The Expanse...

Yeah, but when the govt does it, you get a guy stranded on the moon.............or a guy stranded on mars.

 

[avboiler11]

Our future (our = mankind), if we are to have one, ain't on this rock...and I'm not talking my generation, or my children's, or even their grandchildren's.

Exploration and discovery is in the human spirit; to stop at the atmosphere because "its too expensive" is unbelievably myopic and short-sighted. Yes, space travel is expensive and risky, but so have been SO MANY endeavors that have furthered mankind over the centuries.

Think about how technology has progressed since 1969, when we first put man on the moon with machines designed with slide rules and run by EXTREMELY primitive computers the size of tennis courts. In nearly a half-century, we easily could have put people on Mars *if* we as a nation (and as a species) had decided it was a priority. Nope - that kind of leadership and risk tolerance doesn't seem to exist any more.

 

[rhino]

That is interesting. It could certainly help speed up the establishment of a moon colony.

Wait, isn't that where the giant space worms live?

What about the one from Empire Strikes Back? That thing was a whopper, I think bigger than the sand worm.

And the great alaskan bullworm??!

Yeah that's the one I was originally thinking of.

Yeah, but when the govt does it, you get a guy stranded on the moon.............or a guy stranded on mars.

This literary masterpiece featured a giant worm on the moon as well. And giant rabbits. I read it probably hundreds of times when I was a wee pachyderm.

I'm very interested in what we'll find the next time we visit the moon. Mostly I want to see what kind of vehicles, devices, gear, and bodies have accumulated since the last time NASA put astronauts there. By far the most challenging part of a moon mission is the trip home, which I do not believe anyone else has yet accomplished. I do think there could be a lot of stuff accumulated over the last few decades, some of which we know about (like the big reflector the Soviets/Russians put there, then lost, then found again).

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

Very, very cool. But try to say that title fast three times.

 

[WebSnyper]

Letting the corporations manage space travel is how we get Aliens scenarios or people being suffocated like Total Recall or The Expanse...

But you trust the govt more? No thanks.

I'm not against space travel, just not for the govt funded version.

All this money & effort being put into self driving cars to make us more dependent rather than independent, could probably get us there.

There just needs to be some profit motivation and we'll get there. It drove exploration on this planet and will drive it to the stars.