Can We Build MoonBase Alpha Today?

September 13th 1999...the moon is blasted out of Earth's orbit and the people of Moonbase Alpha have to look elsewhere for a new home. This classic sci fi tv is one of my favourites. But the question is, can we build a Moonbase Alpha as shown in Space 1999 today, or are we still someway off this technological feast..perhaps Victor Bergman has yet to be born and lead theway !!!

Seriously though can it be done

sure it can.
with private investment and the brightest minds can acomplish more than you realise.
It's a matter or safety laws too, if something is not quite up to par, it will never launch.

Befoer we try to colonise somewhere else (even the moon) I htink we need to unite all people on this planet as one. I fone country built a moonbase another country would say that they were gonna build one, we own that etc. and launch a nuke.
If we did bcome one planet most global probelms would maybe not copmpltly but partially be solved and somehting like moonbass and mars bases would become not only pheasible but most likely built to prove how advanced we are.

We could build a functioning moon base, but it sure would be expensive for what we'd get out of it.

Yeah, we might gain a bit of knowledge about the Earth and Moon, like how old it is, and what it might be made of. But what is that knowledge worth to you? If we find the Moon is 5.1 billion years old, rather than 4.6 billion, how does that affect you? What difference does it ultimately make? Are you willing to pay more taxes to find that out?

Now, some people would say that the quest for knowledge is worth any price, but they're usually not the ones footing the bill. For most people, there has to be some reasonable, tangible return on the investment, or forget it.

Originally posted by Enkidu
We could build a functioning moon base, but it sure would be expensive for what we'd get out of it.

Yeah, we might gain a bit of knowledge about the Earth and Moon, like how old it is, and what it might be made of. But what is that knowledge worth to you? If we find the Moon is 5.1 billion years old, rather than 4.6 billion, how does that affect you? What difference does it ultimately make? Are you willing to pay more taxes to find that out?

Now, some people would say that the quest for knowledge is worth any price, but they're usually not the ones footing the bill. For most people, there has to be some reasonable, tangible return on the investment, or forget it.

What of it? Whoever stated that science has to give back to the community or be profitable?

I think that we could build Alpha. Nothing that I saw on that show is out of range of present technology. I'd much rather see the Eagle space craft built. I have always thought that the modular design was excellant.

If private companies that are looking space exploration/tourism now were to fund a company like NASA there wouldn't be a problem. The trouble is getting good scientists to the private companies, and enough money into NASA.

What of it? Whoever stated that science has to give back to the community or be profitable?

The people with the money, that's who. How do you think scientific research is prioritized and funded? The greater the chance at discovering or developing something that's going to make money, the more and faster it's funded. That's why more money is spent doing research to discover the next Viagra than on Mars probes.

Im not that famliar with MoonBase Alpha just seen pictures of it on the internet but a Moon base is indeed possible you would just need to pony up the money.

I bet you could have built a decent one with the money we are spending on the Iraq war. Personally I would rather see my tax dollar spent on a moon base then bringing democracy to the middle east.

Originally posted by Wirral Bagpuss
September 13th 1999...the moon is blasted out of Earth's orbit and the people of Moonbase Alpha have to look elsewhere for a new home. This classic sci fi tv is one of my favourites. But the question is, can we build a Moonbase Alpha as shown in Space 1999 today, or are we still someway off this technological feast..perhaps Victor Bergman has yet to be born and lead theway !!!

Seriously though can it be done

EEEE! I adored Martin Landau, but preferred him and Bain when they were in Mission Impossible.

I once calculated how much nuclear material you'd need to launch the moon out of the Earth's orbit and beyond the solar system and came up with about 2 tons of enriched uranium for every person on the planet Earth.

Some of it's doable today, but I think there's still issues with building large structures in space.