As the Augustine Committee readies itself to present their options for NASA’s course to President Obama, a new player in the race to the Moon is emerging to the public spotlight, though their plans have been around for some time. Nigeria, along with South Africa, have robust plans for their space programs in the years ahead. Most importantly though, beyond expanding satellite infrastructure, Nigeria has plans on the book to launch it’s first citizen into space by 2016 (one year after Orion would enter service) and plan to land humans on the Moon by 2030. We can add them to a growing list of countries that could land humans on the Moon before the United States if NASA doesn’t recieve the adequate funding it needs. That list, which includes countries with plans to land humans on the Moon by 2030 are China, Russia, Japan, and Nigeria.
Archive for the ‘Lunar Exploration’
Moon Lost?
For those who say President Obama isn’t cutting back on spending, initial indications from the Augustine Committee effectively deciding on NASA’s course is that the current plan is too ambitious, and that the Moon might even be the wrong target. For NASA and the United States, this will mean some changes in the near future. We will need to accept the fact that the Chinese and Russians will beat us back to the Moon and that if the Augustine Committee has its way, that won’t be until near 2030, if no major budgetary increases are made.
Where’s the positive news? It seems NASA is taking a bigger interest in private spaceflight. There are numerous companies with the drive and financial backing to do what NASA can’t do right now, and that seems to be the wave of the future, an unfortunate thing when it comes to the ambitious missions the public has come to anticipate from NASA. The results aren’t final, but the news isn’t looking good. Stay tuned…
I Beg to Differ
Dear Bob Greene,
I’m writing to respond to your editorial on CNN.comregarding the bold dream of one boy from Wapakoneta, Ohio. You said that that dream, to go to the Moon, will never happen for most of us.
I’ll tell you right here, right now, that I beg to differ. I can see a day when a trip to the Moon will be as affordable as a trek up Mount Everest. It might just be a once in a lifetime trip, but if you really want to do it, and as you said if you can set your mind to it, then you can make it happen.
I will make that happen. I’ll walk on the Moon if it’s the last thing I do. I’ll be damned if I let anything get in my way of me getting there.
Regards