synchromesh Posted July 25, 2011 Race to the Moon Heats Up for Private Firms Spurred by a $30 million purse put up by Google, 29 teams have signed up for a competition to become the first private venture to land on the Moon. Most of them are unlikely to overcome the financial and technical challenges to meet the contest deadline of December 2015, but several teams think they have a good shot to win — and to take an early lead in a race to take commercial advantage of our celestial neighbor. The fuck? Of course Google have put their hands up first! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
7baz Posted July 25, 2011 Race to the Moon Heats Up for Private Firms The fuck? Of course Google have put their hands up first! ok lets do this , il make the rocket out of cardboard ( no one will know ) then we can hire out a studio and map it out so it looks like the surface of the moon. we will need some astronaut suits , maybe ebay ? then we can smoke some weed and drink heaps of beer and make out we are in zero gravity jumping around. surely we can claim the $30,000,000.00 prize ? lol.... seriously.. i see a disaster coming on... unless these 29 teams hire ex nasa scientists...... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bert&Ernie Posted July 25, 2011 unless these 29 teams hire ex nasa scientists...... I bet that is exactly what some of them will do Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
∂an Posted July 25, 2011 It would be really incredible if a private company could land on the moon by 2015. Going into low Earth orbit (a la Space X's Falcon 9) is one thing, but the moon is another ball game. Much more complex – multi-staged rockets, descent control etc. However, NASA is shedding scientists and engineers as we speak and they are going to want some work. Hopefully the privatisation of the space industry will pay off. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
C_T Posted July 25, 2011 (edited) you do realise nasa hired private company's to do many of their jobs right? its all the same thing, nasa isn't god, its a brand for media support. just like the military contract private company's to make weapons, vehicles etc. Edited July 25, 2011 by C_T Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Foo Posted July 26, 2011 ok lets do this , il make the rocket out of cardboard ( no one will know ) then we can hire out a studio and map it out so it looks like the surface of the moon. we will need some astronaut suits , maybe ebay ? then we can smoke some weed and drink heaps of beer and make out we are in zero gravity jumping around. surely we can claim the $30,000,000.00 prize ? lol.... seriously.. i see a disaster coming on... unless these 29 teams hire ex nasa scientists...... Im with balz. If it was good enough for NASA then its good enough for us! Let me know when you finish the cardboard rocket! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
∂an Posted July 26, 2011 you do realise nasa hired private company's to do many of their jobs right? its all the same thing, nasa isn't god, its a brand for media support. just like the military contract private company's to make weapons, vehicles etc. yes I think they subcontracted out specific parts of projects such as the manufacture of ceramic heat tiles for the space shuttle etc, but the model up to now has been for NASA engineers to have control over the design. NASA employs thousands of engineers and scientists at multiple locations throughout the US. NASA Ames alone employs over 2000 research staff. the latest shift to independent, privatised space firms is quite a different thing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
C_T Posted July 26, 2011 yeah privatised means they don't get a cheque in the mail, they have to fund it themselves. doesn't mean they can't do a good job. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
∂an Posted July 26, 2011 yeah privatised means they don't get a cheque in the mail, they have to fund it themselves. doesn't mean they can't do a good job. totally agree, I think the free market will work in the industries favour. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
santiago Posted July 26, 2011 really though whats the point, its been done and there was nothing up there...all it was was a conquest, there may be some value in google doing a mars challenge, is there really any point to spending such ludicrous amounts of money to go visit a desert rock in the sky. if anyone saw 60 minutes last sunday those new zealand dudes who went right to the bottom of that awe inspiring volcano crater in vanuatu are the people we should be looking up to as human beings, done on a shoestring budget, right here on a place on our own planet more alien like than 1000 moons. there is nothing to be gained from the moon, its a complete waste of humna ingenuity and resources and needs to be shelved permanantly so more important or other challenges can be risen to. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bert&Ernie Posted July 26, 2011 really though whats the point, its been done and there was nothing up there...all it was was a conquest, there may be some value in google doing a mars challenge, is there really any point to spending such ludicrous amounts of money to go visit a desert rock in the sky. if anyone saw 60 minutes last sunday those new zealand dudes who went right to the bottom of that awe inspiring volcano crater in vanuatu are the people we should be looking up to as human beings, done on a shoestring budget, right here on a place on our own planet more alien like than 1000 moons. there is nothing to be gained from the moon, its a complete waste of humna ingenuity and resources and needs to be shelved permanantly so more important or other challenges can be risen to. well the moon's soil is rich in helium-3, the element is rarely found on Earth, unlike on the moon, where it is heavily accumulated because it is pushed away by the Earth's magnetic poles.Helium-3 is highly sought for nuclear fusion, and though the technology is still in its infancy, the element "will ultimately be quite valuable on Earth," Schmitt said. (info found at moons potential) it could also be used as a launching area for future missions to Mars and where ever else you want to go i guess Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ballzac Posted July 26, 2011 It would be really incredible if a private company could land on the moon by 2015. Going into low Earth orbit (a la Space X's Falcon 9) is one thing, but the moon is another ball game. Much more complex – multi-staged rockets, descent control etc. However, NASA is shedding scientists and engineers as we speak and they are going to want some work. Hopefully the privatisation of the space industry will pay off. I'm doubtful too, but it's things like this that having many different teams working on it may actually overcome. As an example, perhaps you don't need multi-staged rockets? Even if no one actually does it, I'm sure with a lot of people working on it, some interesting stuff will come out of the attempts. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
C_T Posted July 26, 2011 in the long run, like making computers cheaper, this will help make space travel cheaper. good step forward imo. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
santiago Posted July 26, 2011 there is just something a little wrong to me about our goal to mine the moon an steal its resources, even if it just is moon sand. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
synchromesh Posted July 26, 2011 I'm with ya on that one, santiago. "I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are." - Bill Hicks 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ballzac Posted July 26, 2011 there is just something a little wrong to me about our goal to mine the moon an steal its resources, even if it just is moon sand. We've just about run out of resources here, what else are we meant to do? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
∂an Posted July 26, 2011 what is so pathological about a species wanting to expand its habitat? life tenaciously seeks to stay alive, that is what it is good at. yes, perhaps we have twisted motives (i.e. to write marriage proposals on the moon wtf), but lifting life of Earth might be the only thing humanity is good for. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
santiago Posted July 27, 2011 i see nothing wrong with moving to another planet kalika, eventually if we live long enough that may be our only option- however when people are starting to see big $$ signs already from what we can reap out the the moon in terms of resources only, isnt that a little pathological. in that regard we are nothing better than intergalactic pirates, plundering whats not really ours- you could make an argument that human really only have property rights over planet earth and have no rights to anything outside our sphere, but thats getting a bit legal sci fi. somali pirates have no rights to steal oil tankers from other nations so what gives us the right to steal from the moon, just because we cant define intelligent life up there, its still not right. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
7baz Posted July 27, 2011 i kinda see this differently..... planet earth is not ours to own.. but to share.. the moon is no different... i think the whole damn universe is ment to be shared. we are all conditioned to believe we own this and we own that etc etc when you see a fruit tree in the amazon jungle.. who owns that ? the government ? lol the government doesn't own shit when it comes to reality... and neither do we. maybe this whole privatization thing of space agencies is a good thing... a big boast to the economy.. more jobs created. more discoveries to be made. i can already see Richard branson ( virgin ) taking this big step. however i find it a lil far fetched this can be done by 2015. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
synchromesh Posted July 27, 2011 Is that all we can do as a race; rape celestial bodies and build companies? Thank God for Art is all I've got to say! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ballzac Posted July 27, 2011 I agree, we need to get Christo onto this whole moon project thing Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
