How We'll Get Back To The Moon in 2018

[tdktank59 0]

I found this artical on http://www.nasa.gov/missions/solarsystem/cev.html
I found it very interesting what Nasa and our goverment are doing as far as getting to the moon!!! and setting up a base out there for future missions to mars!!!

so have fun to view the picture go to the site above they are pretty cool if you ask me!!!

THey are reverting back to the old Apollo design spaceships and have implemented new features as you can read below...

Have fun

How We'll Get Back to the Moon
09.22.05

Crew Exploration Vehicle Before the end of the next decade, NASA astronauts will again explore the surface of the moon. And this time, we're going to stay, building outposts and paving the way for eventual journeys to Mars and beyond. There are echoes of the iconic images of the past, but it won't be your grandfather's moon shot.

Image left: NASA's new crew exploration vehicle in lunar orbit. Click to enlarge. Artist's concept by John Frassanito and Associates.

This journey begins soon, with development of a new spaceship. Building on the best of Apollo and shuttle technology, NASA's creating a 21st century exploration system that will be affordable, reliable, versatile, and safe.

The centerpiece of this system is a new spacecraft designed to carry four astronauts to and from the moon, support up to six crewmembers on future missions to Mars, and deliver crew and supplies to the International Space Station.

The new crew vehicle will be shaped like an Apollo capsule, but it will be three times larger, allowing four astronauts to travel to the moon at a time.

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The new spacecraft has solar panels to provide power, and both the capsule and the lunar lander use liquid methane in their engines. Why methane? NASA is thinking ahead, planning for a day when future astronauts can convert Martian atmospheric resources into methane fuel.

The new ship can be reused up to 10 times. After the craft parachutes to dry land (with a splashdown as a backup option), NASA can easily recover it, replace the heat shield and launch it again.

Coupled with the new lunar lander, the system sends twice as many astronauts to the surface as Apollo, and they can stay longer, with the initial missions lasting four to seven days. And while Apollo was limited to landings along the moon's equator, the new ship carries enough propellant to land anywhere on the moon's surface.

Once a lunar outpost is established, crews could remain on the lunar surface for up to six months. The spacecraft can also operate without a crew in lunar orbit, eliminating the need for one astronaut to stay behind while others explore the surface.

Safe and reliable

The launch system that will get the crew off the ground builds on powerful, reliable shuttle propulsion elements. Astronauts will launch on a rocket made up of a single shuttle solid rocket booster, with a second stage powered by a shuttle main engine.

New heavy lift and crew launch vehicles Image left: An engineering concept shows NASA's new heavy lift and crew launch vehicles. Click to enlarge. Credit: NASA
+ View Size Compared to Apollo, shuttle

A second, heavy-lift system uses a pair of longer solid rocket boosters and five shuttle main engines to put up to 125 metric tons in orbit -- about one and a half times the weight of a shuttle orbiter. This versatile system will be used to carry cargo and to put the components needed to go to the moon and Mars into orbit. The heavy-lift rocket can be modified to carry crew as well.

Best of all, these launch systems are 10 times safer than the shuttle because of an escape rocket on top of the capsule that can quickly blast the crew away if launch problems develop. There's also little chance of damage from launch vehicle debris, since the capsule sits on top of the rocket.

The Flight Plan

In just five years, the new ship will begin to ferry crew and supplies to the International Space Station. Plans call for as many as six trips to the outpost a year. In the meantime, robotic missions will lay the groundwork for lunar exploration. In 2018, humans will return to the moon. Here's how a mission would unfold:

A heavy-lift rocket blasts off, carrying a lunar lander and a "departure stage" needed to leave Earth's orbit (below left). The crew launches separately (below, center), then docks their capsule with the lander and departure stage and heads for the moon (below, right).

engineering graphics and artwork by John Frassanito and Associates depict a lunar flight plan.

Three days later, the crew goes into lunar orbit (below, left). The four astronauts climb into the lander, leaving the capsule to wait for them in orbit. After landing and exploring the surface for seven days, the crew blasts off in a portion of the lander (below, center), docks with the capsule and travels back to Earth. After a de-orbit burn, the service module is jettisoned, exposing the heat shield for the first time in the mission. The parachutes deploy, the heat shield is dropped and the capsule sets down on dry land (below, right).

engineering graphics and artwork by John Frassanito and Associates depict a lunar flight plan.

+ View More Detailed Graphic

'Into the Cosmos'

With a minimum of two lunar missions per year, momentum will build quickly toward a permanent outpost. Crews will stay longer and learn to exploit the moon's resources, while landers make one way trips to deliver cargo. Eventually, the new system could rotate crews to and from a lunar outpost every six months.

Planners are already looking at the lunar south pole as a candidate for an outpost because of concentrations of hydrogen thought to be in the form of water ice, and an abundance of sunlight to provide power.

New lunar lander Image right: Four astronauts could land on the moon in the new lander. Click to enlarge. Artist's concept by John Frassanito and Associates.

These plans give NASA a huge head start in getting to Mars. We will already have the heavy-lift system needed to get there, as well as a versatile crew capsule and propulsion systems that can make use of Martian resources. A lunar outpost just three days away from Earth will give us needed practice of "living off the land" away from our home planet, before making the longer trek to Mars.

As President Bush said when he announced the Vision for Space Exploration, "Humans are headed into the cosmos." Now we know how we'll get there.

[s243a 0]

I have been interested in space for quite some time and I was very happy when bush announced the vision for space exploration. For two long we have been flying in circles in LEO on a vehicle which is unsafe and hopelessly expensive. Finally NASA is given direction to use the money it gets to go forward and not in circles. I hope that future administrations continue this valiant effort to advance the technology that will allow us to survive in the hashes places and utilize resources in places that we have barley begun to set foot on.It is interesting that the push back into space seems to coincide with a general shift in public concern towards preparing natural disasters both man made and of natural occurrence. By developing engineering survive and prosper in the most extreme places will go along way towards helping prepare humankind for whatever the future might entail.

[tdktank59 0]

I have been interested in space for quite some time and I was very happy when bush announced the vision for space exploration. For two long we have been flying in circles in LEO on a vehicle which is unsafe and hopelessly expensive. Finally NASA is given direction to use the money it gets to go forward and not in circles. I hope that future administrations continue this valiant effort to advance the technology that will allow us to survive in the hashes places and utilize resources in places that we have barley begun to set foot on.

 

It is interesting that the push back into space seems to coincide with a general shift in public concern towards preparing natural disasters both man made and of natural occurrence. By developing engineering survive and prosper in the most extreme places will go along way towards helping prepare humankind for whatever the future might entail.

198669[/snapback]

very nice lol... lost myself in your wording tho but exelent!!! im glad to see im not the only one...

 

Just as soonas we can start living in space and start colonizing elsewhere this will work out great!!!!

 

who knows this may end up being one of those Hitch Hiker Guide's things lol where the rest of the universe is so far beyond our point in technology and that we are all a big **bottom** computer program lol...

[s243a 0]

very nice lol... lost myself in your wording tho but exelent!!! im glad to see im not the only one...

 

Just as soonas we can start living in space and start colonizing elsewhere this will work out great!!!!

 

who knows this may end up being one of those Hitch Hiker Guide's things lol where the rest of the universe is so far beyond our point in technology and that we are all a big **bottom** computer program lol...

198681[/snapback]

I don?t expect to come across aliens any time soon considering the vast distance of space and the extreme amounts of energy necessary to create a warp drive. Getting back to the current situation you might find the following interview interesting:

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=18122

Also there are many people interested in space, many advocacy groups and many discussion groups. My favorite advocacy group for space is the mars society.

http://www.marssociety.org/

[tuddy 0]

Whats so good about the Moon? ... Its a big piece of Rock that has nothing on it. I mean you can walk on there and leave a footprint forever, get over it. Earth is where we were born, earth has computers, money, water, food, females/males. so who cares?

[sangdukseo 0]

The moon's gonna be reached by either China or a private venture. The government is not effiecient enough to put a big project like this together before someone else does, most likely a private business. And for tuddy, space exploration has practical benefits, not just the "It's man's destiny" bs. If earth's environment begins to deteriote at an accelerated pace due to human actions, we may be forced to go find a new place to live. Gotta think big man.

[wild20 0]

This is awesome. They were going for mars in the year 2018 though. I wonder why they changed it? Oh well. The mission will be great. Never have we set up a colony on any planet before besides ours. The moon will definitely be a good starter goal.I seriously believe that if we don't plan very carefully for the mars trip though, that we will lose the lives of every one on board. Why? The mission to mars will require a long journey just to get to mars, then we have to get them back. If anything goes wrong, you will be in a time where you will have thirty minute intervals between talking, due to the long range between us and them. If communication fails, then what do you do? We must be careful and unhurried. Remeber apollo thirteen?, and the accident that happened while preparing for the mission? It was all in a hurry. So while this is a good idea, we need to be careful too.

[Ryo 0]

ive posted another topic of how much i hate the space shuttle design and the appolo design isnt much better. We should be working toward a new type of propulsion that will quickly and effictivally work form the air to space with no rockets. I think these new age missions to the moon will be cool i really want to visit the moon someday that would be real cool.

[floresid 0]

I can see why people want to go the moon/mars and so on, but seriously we have so many issues here @ home, yet we give billions to NASA every year to play w their toys. I bet if we took one year off of NASA's budget, we could get a heck of a start on fixing social security, lowering our national interest rates, feeding the homeless, or a number of other things out country is lacking in. I don't see why it has to be America's checkbook that pays this bill. What happened to joint ventures? If it's man's destiny, or it will benefit "all of mankind" why are we the only ones paying for it? If it will fit four astronauts, then let four countries split the bill and send one from each. The race to the moon is over, now it's time to look at realistic ways of really making it affordable and plausable to move forward, and I believe it should be a joint venture.

[bureX 0]

Don't think that NASA doesn't know that it takes radio waves allot of time to reach the crew! All NASA satellites are even more distant from Earth, but they still "survived" in space because they don?t require new information to be received every few seconds or minutes. The crew is well trained in case of an emergency, and they also have an escape capsule! Pretty neat! Finally NASA took care of that severe security problem... Still, if man could land on the Moon back then, there's no doubt that we can do it again, but this time (I hope) we are here to stay! It looks like NASA is trying to give astronauts a chance to actually live on another planet by learning to exploit it's resources. If they find a way to do that, then this is going to be another small step for a man, and another giant for mankind!

[bureX 0]

@floresid
Just saw your post... And, yes, other countries should also join in! Unfortunately, some are just trying to compete with the USA, instead of joining forces
By the way... NASA is not playing with toys! If it wasn't for them, we would still look at the stars at night and think "Wow, maybe I could reach them with a stick"...

@tuddy

Whats so good about the Moon? ... Its a big piece of Rock that has nothing on it. I mean you can walk on there and leave a footprint forever, get over it.
Earth is where we were born, earth has computers, money, water, food, females/males. so who cares?

It is in our nature to explore the unknown!
The Moon is just another pile of rocks in space, but it's a great step towards the heavens! If I told you that a transistor can act as a switch, you probably wouldn't care, but that switch, multiplied by millions, is your PC!

Get real! If we stop exploring space, we will just end up like the dinosaurs! (sounds like a cheap SF movie, but it's the truth... there are lots and lots of meteors out there, and one of them will be on a collision course with Earth one day)

[s243a 0]

ive posted another topic of how much i hate the space shuttle design and the appolo design isnt much better. We should be working toward a new type of propulsion that will quickly and effictivally work form the air to space with no rockets. I think these new age missions to the moon will be cool i really want to visit the moon someday that would be real cool.

The key to dramatically lowering the cost to deliver mass to LEO is either a reusable rocket or a space elevator. It would take a significant amount of development and add considerable risk to the VSE. Also a reusable rocket will probably not be able to deliver the necessary mass to LEO for mission to the moon or mars.

I can see why people want to go the moon/mars and so on, but seriously we have so many issues here @ home, yet we give billions to NASA every year to play w their toys. I bet if we took one year off of NASA's budget, we could get a heck of a start on fixing social security, lowering our national interest rates, feeding the homeless, or a number of other things out country is lacking in.

NASA makes up less the 1% the budget of the united states. It is a small portion of the budget but an important portion to send. If America falls behind in investing in science and engineering then other nations will take the lead and America will be left behind.

I don't see why it has to be America's checkbook that pays this bill. What happened to joint ventures? If it's man's destiny, or it will benefit "all of mankind" why are we the only ones paying for it? If it will fit four astronauts, then let four countries split the bill and send one from each. The race to the moon is over, now it's time to look at realistic ways of really making it affordable and plausable to move forward, and I believe it should be a joint venture.

The economy of the united states is as large the economy of Europe. And the nations of Europe do not match NASA in investment per capita in there space agencies. It is possible that Russia, china or Europe may beat the united states in the return to the moon but they do not have the same resources at their disposal. Also although international cooperation can lower costs it can also create problems as we have seen in the case of the international space station. Some issues included incompatibility of hardware, one nation holding the entire program hostage because they are responsible for a key part of it, loss of national pride and having to share the gains in prosperity and technology with the other countries participating.

So in short the US could cooperate with other nations in the return to the moon but it may not help the success of the program and yield the maximum benefits form the initiative to the people of the united states.

[tdktank59 0]

Whats so good about the Moon? ... Its a big piece of Rock that has nothing on it. I mean you can walk on there and leave a footprint forever, get over it.

 

Earth is where we were born, earth has computers, money, water, food, females/males. so who cares?

198734[/snapback]

Whats so good is taht it takes alot of the fuel they have on the ship to get out of our atmosphere... so if we have the moon base!!! that means that there is no gravity function in the equation (there is but 1/6 of earths) thus making less fuel burn getting to farther planets instead we launch from the moon and so on...

 

Plus there are certian things we cant do here on ground for science that we can do up there with much more easy!!!

 

(i dont know what but there are lol)

 

"Yeah we were born on earth" or so the story goes... we really dont know how life started... so yeah...

 

Figure that one out you solve the awnser to life... but right now we just know what happend after that first thing of life happend... which was a single cell organism... (bacteria)

 

And have you ever heard of wireless network... thats how computers will work on the moon its not like we need a log **bottom** cable taht rotates the earth to get to the moon in order to transport anything in the world... most of your internet is over satilite... how else do you guess we can get to things over in europe or asia or china and that nature... it can be done so what makes the diffrence... we can also get solar feilds on the moon for energy and make our own world up there (big **bottom** domes and stuff mostly.... and create our own enviroment... we will have to figure out how to add a gravity of some sort but thats to come in the future...

 

In all colonizing on the moon is the way we need to go in order to advance our technology!!! and we also are going to wear earth short of supplies that are not replenishable in the years to come (not in our lifetimes tho...) but it will happen... and when it does we have to be off this planet and far from it... such as mars...

 

All of these science fiction movies are coming true if you havnt figured out... (minus armagedon with the metor the size of texas... but colonization on the moon...

 

Anyways theres my 2cents...

[tdktank59 0]

can a mod merge my last post with this oen or visa versa...

 

 

 

SO yeah the world feels that science is unethical but guess waht this didnt stop the people back in the 1600s during the revolutions and renisance (spelt wrong...) but without galileo/kepler/bacon/newton and those guys in that era we would not be where we are today... so what i say is *BLEEP* RELIGION... (go ahead and practice it... but dont let it get involved with the world today... THe world today is Science and Technology if you cant figure out thats what we are all about now... then please kill yourself of STFU...)

 

But if we dont do this then either someone else will or we will not get off this plantet and find other life... (if there wasnt other life then wtf is all this "space" for... Also i am 100% positive that there is other life out there that has at least one cell... if not go ahead and hunt me down and kill me...(but be 100% certian that there isnt...)

 

Also its 1 *BLEEP*ing % whats our budget to eveything else... i say we put more like 5% to Science/Nasa stuff... or more lets get our *darn* technology up to date and better than we can ever imageine...

 

Lets putit this way if i had money in mass amounts i would be donating it to some sort of technology (nasa or something of that sort...) to make sure we can do waht we need too...

 

And to the joint missions ths world is *BLEEP*ed up... but its also impossible to have just one leader for 6billion people in this world... you would need a federation of some sort to rule that many people... which we may need to turn into in the future...

 

But we do some joint missions like the space station right now is occupied by a few countries.... USA/Russia/China/Japan and a few more i belive... but we need to get us all going fo the same goal before one country rules eveything... we need to become allies with each other instead of being *happy* and killing each other...

 

im done i can go on forever but i will just keep rambleing on... so im done for now...

[jlhaslip 4]

NASA and space exploration is awesome. Can't wait to see someone else stroll across the Lunar surface. And the US of A isn't in the Space Program alone. The Manipulator Arm on the Shuttle is Canadian designed and built. Canada also has Astronauts in the NASA program and I don't know what it costs us, but I'd bet we pay our share.