Take me to the Moon

by Staff Writers for Launchspace Bethesda, MD (SPX) May 08, 2018 SPX

Last December, President Trump signed the first set of National Space Council recommendations under Space Policy Directive 1. Vice President Pence recently noted that, "We will send American astronauts back to the moon, and after that we will establish the capacity, with international and commercial partners, to send Americans to Mars, and NASA will lead the way."

Newly appointed NASA Administrator, Jim Bridenstine, has thus been charged with fulfilling this policy objective. The last administration wanted to go to Mars, but it appears there will be a slight detour at a Deep Space Gateway on the moon.

Robert Lightfoot, NASA's retiring acting administrator, has said the new directive could provide "a sense of urgency" to NASA's spaceflight pursuits, because there are several potential interested international partners.

In addition to delaying sending humans to Mars, NASA separately ended the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) program. So, NASA's human space flight program will focus on going back to the moon. Yes, the US did send 12 astronauts to the lunar surface between 1969 and 1972. If you were born after the late 1960s, you probably don't remember these historic events. Well, we have not forgotten the moon.

It appears that going back there is going to take priority. Last time, we spent only a few days on the lunar surface during each of the six missions. This time we are going to stay and possibly build a colony there. Not only will we learn much more about the moon, but it will likely become a "Gateway" to solar system exploration.

Although we have been there before, getting to the moon is difficult and expensive. The Apollo Program required the equivalent of four-million man-years of labor and some $25 billion between 1962 and 1972. Adjusting for 45 years of inflation, we can expect the new program to cost several times more.

The first time, NASA paid for it. This time we will need to create viable business plans that commercial organizations can use to justify at least part of the expenditures. A successful program will require several profitable commercial ventures that are based on lunar missions.

The first lunar missions were designed for space exploration. The new ones must be designed for space exploitation.