Russia, U.S. race to the moon

[Joanne98]

Source: UPI

Britain's Telegraph newspaper reported that Russia claims its efforts to cooperate with the U.S. National Air and Space Administration's efforts to explore the moon have been rejected.

"We are ready to cooperate, but for some reason the United States has announced that it will carry out the program itself," Anatoly Perminov, the head of Russia's Federal Space Agency Roscosmos told the Telegraph. "Strange as it is, the United States is short of experts to implement the program."

NASA has announced it plans to build an international base on the moon and staff it by 2024. The Russian rocket manufacturer Energia said it would build a moon base by 2015, the report said.

Russian officials have said the lunar program is aimed at the industrial extraction of helium-3, an isotope fuel for nuclear fusion that some believe could replace fossil fuels.


Read more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science&article=UPI-1-20070501-16145900-bc-russia-spacerace.xml

[lovuian]

1. The Real Star Wars

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79ipvNKwr7E

China wants to get there first India Japan and US

Russia too

Its going to be fun

[SayWhatYo]

10. I'm rooting for China...

Just 'cause it pisses off my parents.

[tridim]

2. "NASA has announced it plans to build an international base on the moon and staff it by 2024"

Yea, RIGHT! :rofl:

Not a chance in hell that'll happen. I don't even think it'll happen if NASA is fixed in 09.

[Purveyor]

3. To funny. The only reliable space vehicle this day is Soviet Soyuz.

Had it not been for the Soyuz, the current ISS would have been 'dust' by now.

There is very little this USA dominates in these days other than 'death and destruction'.

I fear we shall one day pay the price for this...

[Cobalt-60]

7. They're building a sawed off Apollo CSM called "Orion"

and calling it new technology.

[SayWhatYo]

9. To be fair, the US still does dominate in the space area.

It might not be like it used to be, and it might only be because there are not many other contenders, but we still lead in that area....

[gauguin57]

4. What year is this ... 1961?

U.S., Russia race to the moon? I lived through that as a child. I feel like I'm in the middle of the film "Peggy Sue Got Married" or something.

[soothsayer]

12. i had the exact same thought!

[Show_Me _The_Truth]

5. Ummm didn't we already win that race?

[DavidDvorkin]

6. Yes and no

By abandoning the moon, and manned space flight beyond Earth orbit, we declared our victory meaningless. The race went into mothballs, and now we're all back to square one.

[Show_Me _The_Truth]

13. "I choose not to run" to quote Seinfeld.

[Jack_DeLeon]

15. Pretty much, hopefully we dont drop the ball again.

[aaronbees]

8. As with so much else, the mentality here is "go it alone" .....

Ridiculous ... the race is on for lunar hegemony!

[Show_Me _The_Truth]

14. Even if for simple scientific exploration,

the Russians aren't exactly the best people to hitch our wagon up to in an alliance of this source. They are not exactly brimming with cash and plowing it into their space program.

[daleo]

11. Helium 3 and nuclear fusion

It will be perfected in only 30 years...power will be too cheap to meter...

[Joe Bacon]

16. Funny, they said the same thing about nuclear power in the 50s

I still remember when Shippingport PA's reactor went on line and all the scientists were saying that power would become so cheap it would be free. That didn't turn out the way they said...

Fusion is unworkable and it's based on a fallacy. Just as we have only so much oil in the ground we only have so much hydrogen to turn into helium.

[Canuckistanian]

17. Fusion is a fallacy?

That's news to me. And also solar physicists who observe it every day. And people who enjoy a nice sunny day.

And where do you get the idea that hydrogen is a scarce commodity? It's THE most abundant element in the Universe.

[qazplm]

18. wha?

Well, I mean...what?!

Hydrogen is what about 98% of the known universe?

It's also fairly easily made.

Certainly 30 years from now we will find even easier ways to make it.

Fusion isnt unworkable, its just hard. We'll eventually figure it out, and when we do, our power problems will be a long way towards solved.

I also dont remember a whole lot of scientists saying nuclear fission would lead to free energy.

[Ganja Ninja]

19. I know the reason we won't cooperate with the Russians.

Because we aren't doing anything but talking about going back to the moon and if we get involved with them we'll have to spend money we don't have and actually go through the motions.