New NASA Moon Mission by 2024

[Epsilon]

Of mild interest to this forum.

[Wiregeek]

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

[nocarename]

So, I have a question.
Before all the future plan bits narrator says, 'The trail we blazed cut through the fictions of science, and showed us all what was possible.'
What fictions of science? That seems a deeply strange phrasing.

That done:
Woo! Moon colonies! More space stations!
Mars!

[hazard]

Is it me or does the narrator sound a lot like William Shatner?

That said, while I like the ambition, I'm not sure the USA is currently capable of investing the required political capital into this.

[classicdrogn]

Well, maybe if the plan was to divert attention (and funding) away from climate studies with earth-focused satllites and so on. I'll believe it when the budget is approved.

[Star Ranger4]

More than a bit of the funding already was approved. Space Launch system and Orion ARE actual flight tested hardware at this point, for example.

In fact, for all the publicity Musk has garnered for Falcon 9 and Dragon, Dragon remains un-certified for flight, and ULA would use a Boeing capsule that doesnt have actual hardware yet. So Orion at the moment is the only Human flight certified capsule in the US inventory.

However, CD has a point. SLS and Orion got their funding from the Obama administration; the present initiatives would require the current congress to aprove funding and they seem a bit more interested in flambeing the current resident of the oval office

[robkelk]

Well, maybe if the plan was to divert attention (and funding) away from climate studies with earth-focused satllites and so on. ...

If you go digging through the Politics forum from around when Trump was sworn in, you should find the posts about him wanting NASA to get out of looking at Earth.

So... what do you mean, "maybe"?

[Black Aeronaut]

The screaming orange thinks it's more important to put big guns into space.

I don't think we'll be seeing this anytime soon, unless the purpose of the mission is to lay the foundations of a military installation on the Moon.

And you all know what that's gonna do to the Russians and the Chinese.

[classicdrogn]

If you go digging through the Politics forum from around when Trump was sworn in, you should find the posts about him wanting NASA to get out of looking at Earth.

So... what do you mean, "maybe"?

I know, that's what makes me think it's vaguely possible. I'm still going to be skeptical until the program is actually funded, though - there's a big heaping helping of anti-intellectualism on the Right, so supporting any kind of science is iffy let alone the proverbial rocket science.