proposal for Moon Mission in 2017 by Lockheed Martin

[jefferiestubes8]

NASA may have scuttled its plans to return humans to the moon's surface, but Lockheed Martin may have a better idea.

The longtime government contractor has begun pitching the L2-Farside Mission, which would still send humans to the moon—just not the surface. Instead, it would be a teleoperation mission, where a crew orbits the planet in the confines of a spacecraft, and then teleoperates robots on the lunar surface, Space.com reports.

November 24, 2010
Lockheed Proposes Far Side of the Moon Mission


via Space.com

The first Orion missions to the moon's far side, viewed as feasible by 2016 to 2018, would accomplish science goals on the lunar surface using robotic rovers controlled by astronauts in space "as practice for doing the same thing at Mars," Hopkins told SPACE.com.

Each flight would prove out the Orion capsule's life support systems for one-month duration missions before attempting a six-month-long asteroid mission.

Astronauts would orbit the L2 point for about two weeks – long enough to operate a rover through the full length of a lunar day.

Once at this vantage point – 40,000 miles above the far side of the moon – the Orion crew would be able to see both the entire far side of the moon, and the Earth.

Mission Proposed to Send Astronauts to the Moon's Far Side
Pretty cool stuff. Also was mentioned in the article that the robots would construct a radio telescope on the far side of the moon.

related:
Japan taking humanoid robots to moon by 2015

Russia plans its own moon base (inhabited) around 2027

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

Yeah, but we'd have to like... spend money.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

Yeah, but we'd have to like... spend money.

I seem to forget when I start a thread on space exploration that I must point people to this thread:
funding for manned Mission to Mars [financial/political ONLY]

so...any thoughts on the mission proposal aside from funding?

 

[Lindley]

Yeah, but we'd have to like... spend money.

Great, it'll help get the economy going.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

This has the virtual of eliminating the most difficult part, which is the landing and lifting off from the Moon's surface.

The space program has a negligible effect on the nation's economy.

 

[23skidoo]

Well, it's a start at least. And it has the virtue of having never been tried (if you'll forgive the unintentional Kirk quote from Wrath of Khan). I do agree that there's little point in us rehashing stuff we did 40 years ago, so if this ends up being a launching point to sending people (not just robots) beyond Earth orbit, I'm all for it.

I gave up on governments, which are too tied down in money issues, really accomplishing anything back in the 1980s. It's going to be the private sector that gets us to Mars, not NASA or whatever the Russians are calling theirs this week.

The thing that will truly kick private space exploration into high gear is if we find a sign of valuable commodities on an asteroid, or Mars, or the moon. Maybe not oil (which would open a whole different set of issues; think about what oil is made from), but perhaps gold or platinum, or some hitherto unknown commodity that might replace oil.

In other words, I bet if LM gets its crew to the Moon, playing with their RC robots, they aren't just going to be digging for water...

Alex

 

[jefferiestubes8]

if we find a sign of valuable commodities on an asteroid, or Mars, or the moon.

some hitherto unknown commodity that might replace oil.

Oh of course you mean helium-3 just like in Moon.
just kidding.

 

[diankra]

It seems an entirely credible plan, updating plans which were around 40 years ago. Not actually landing humans will reduce public interest though.
The problem is that there's no hint of how it's going to be funded, but that's O/T.

 

[bigdaddy]

Yeah, but we'd have to like... spend money.

And we can only do that if we can start a useless war with the moon.

 

[SilentP]

The thing that will truly kick private space exploration into high gear is if we find a sign of valuable commodities on an asteroid, or Mars, or the moon. Maybe not oil (which would open a whole different set of issues; think about what oil is made from), but perhaps gold or platinum, or some hitherto unknown commodity that might replace oil.

I remember reading somewhere (think it might have been linked from one of the threads here) of an asteroid that is in Earth's vicinity with huge quantities of precious metals such as gold and platinum. Anyone know what I'm on about, since it's only vague in my memory...

 

[Finn]

Yeah, but we'd have to like... spend money.

And we can only do that if we can start a useless war with the moon.

Wag the Dog style?

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

The thing that will truly kick private space exploration into high gear is if we find a sign of valuable commodities on an asteroid, or Mars, or the moon. Maybe not oil (which would open a whole different set of issues; think about what oil is made from), but perhaps gold or platinum, or some hitherto unknown commodity that might replace oil.

I remember reading somewhere (think it might have been linked from one of the threads here) of an asteroid that is in Earth's vicinity with huge quantities of precious metals such as gold and platinum. Anyone know what I'm on about, since it's only vague in my memory...

Probably Eros if it's this story from 1999:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/401227.stm

"more aluminium, gold, silver, zinc and other base and precious metals than have ever been excavated in history or indeed, could ever be excavated from the upper layers of the Earth's crust"