Moonbase by 2022 for $10 billion, says NASA

NASA has never had any project come anywhere close to 'on budget'.
That 10 billion would balloon to $30 billion after the first year.

Even if they did build a moon base it would little more than a welfare project up there.
Constant resupply missions. And for what ? H3 ?? that's laugh.
Name one place where H3 is currently being used. tick tock tick tock

Bring back precious metals they say!
You can produce them cheaper here on tera firma.

A launch platform for Mars missions they say!
So do you want to build rocket factories on the moon?
Sure just launch a Spacex factory and land it on the moon.
Then just launch hundreds of factory workers.
Then launch special bull dozers to dig the metals from the moon.
Then just launch smelting facilities.
For what 1 or 2 missions every two years?

a reply to: samkent

Please stop with the optimism…🙂

Moonbase by 2022 for $10 billion, says NASA

So subtract 50-60 years from that and that's when it was first built. So I'm guessing around the 1970's.

a reply to: samkent

Are you aware of all the things that came from the space race that you use every year?

The big dig cost more than that.

a reply to: luthier


The "Big Dig" could supply electricity to our culture at a world scale for a rather long time.

And then there is every other moon like Earths moon and the asteroid belt.

With respect to recourses could usher in a new age in relation to the colonization of our solar system.

a reply to: Kashai

I meant the tunnel in Boston. I was pointing out even 30 billion is not a lot of money for the amount of experience and knowledge that would come from building a moon base. Where we could start mining and building equiptment in space.

a reply to: luthier


It going to cost more that 10 billion which as another member offered is not an official reaponse.

But in consideration there is the return.

Like supplying the Earths occupants with the kind of electricity that would be equivalent to finding the same way to do this with Seawater.

a reply to: Kashai

I am an advocate for all space exploration. It's a while new market to boot where new jobs and technology would be created.

I was saying even 30 billion is not a lot. 100 billion

a reply to: luthier


Setting up the base is one thing transporting the materials to Earth is another.

$500 Billion American dollars to start with a return equivalent in about 25 years conservatively.

Beyond that......

a reply to: Kashai

So much more than just the mining would be accomplished though. So it's hard to say that is the only return. We would be creating all kinds of new technology tonuse on other space mining operations and space travel.

a reply to: luthier


Exactly.

a reply to: Kashai

Now we just need to convince everyone else stuck in the mud.

Reply to luthier

a reply to: Kashai

Probably powering Dick Cheney's Yacht as we speak.

a reply to: luthier


Perhaps not why the US government pays $100 for a hammer.

Is it safe to assume that since Boeings around 95 billion a year in revenue that they probably have 4 of them already?

Ten billion? That's a bargain. Canada can build at least that this year with the 30 billion dollar deficit budget loaded with sunny days. unicorns, for all, rainbows and no lack of selfies with refugees.

a reply to: Cynic


You know the auto industry pretty much operates upon robotics.


So what exactly today is the problem with applying that same technology to the Farm Industry?

a reply to: luthier

Are you aware of all the things that came from the space race that you use every year?

Most of those are PR output to justify NASA.

Give me the list of 'things' from the space shuttle program.

Give me the list of 'things' from the ISS program.

Even the list from the Apollo program is bogus.
Most of those things were in development anyway.

originally posted by: samkent
a reply to: luthier

Are you aware of all the things that came from the space race that you use every year?

Most of those are PR output to justify NASA.

Give me the list of 'things' from the space shuttle program.

Give me the list of 'things' from the ISS program.

Even the list from the Apollo program is bogus.
Most of those things were in development anyway.

Infrared ear thermometers
Diatek Corporation and NASA developed an aural thermometer that measures the thermal radiation emitted by the eardrum, similar to the way the temperature of stars and planets is measured. This method avoids contact with mucous membranes, and permits rapid temperature measurement of newborn or incapacitated patients. NASA supported the Diatek Corporation through the Technology Affiliates Program.

Ventricular assist device
Collaboration between NASA, Dr. Michael DeBakey, Dr. George Noon, and MicroMed Technology Inc. resulted in a heart pump for patients awaiting heart transplants. The MicroMed DeBakey ventricular assist device (VAD) functions as a "bridge to heart transplant" by pumping blood until a donor heart is available. The pump is approximately one-tenth the size of other currently marketed pulsatile VADs. Because of the pump’s small size, fewer patients developed device-related infections. It can operate up to 8 hours on batteries, giving patients the mobility to do normal, everyday activities.

Artificial limbs
NASA’s continued funding, coupled with its collective innovations in robotics and shock-absorption/comfort materials are inspiring and enabling the private sector to create new and better solutions for animal and human prostheses. Advancements such as Environmental Robots Inc.’s development of artificial muscle systems with robotic sensing and actuation capabilities for use in NASA space robotic and extravehicular activities are being adapted to create more functionally dynamic artificial limbs (Spinoff 2004). Additionally, other private-sector adaptations of NASA’s temper foam technology have brought about custom-moldable materials offering the natural look and feel of flesh, as well as preventing friction between the skin and the prosthesis, and heat/moisture buildup.

Light-emitting diodes in medical therapies
After initial experiments using light-emitting diodes in NASA space shuttle plant growth experiments, NASA issued a small business innovation grant that led to the development of a hand-held, high-intensity, LED unit developed by Quantum Devices Inc. that can be used to treat tumors after other treatment options are exhausted. This therapy was approved by the FDA and inducted into the Space Foundation's Space Technology Hall of Fame in 2000.

Invisible braces
Invisible braces are a type of transparent ceramics called translucent polycrystalline alumina (TPA). A company known as Ceradyne developed TPA in conjunction with NASA Advanced Ceramics Research as protection for infrared antennae on heat-seeking missile trackers.

Scratch-resistant lenses
A sunglasses manufacturer called Foster Grant first licensed a NASA technology for scratch-resistant lenses, developed for protecting space equipment from scratching in space, especially helmet visors.

Space blanket
So-called space blankets, developed in 1964, are lightweight and reflect infrared radiation. They are often included in first aid kits.

Aircraft anti-icing systems
This ice-free airplane wing uses Thermawing's Aircraft Anti-Icing System, a NASA spin-off.
NASA funding under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and work with NASA scientists advanced the development of a thermoelectric deicing system called Thermawing, a DC-powered air conditioner for single-engine aircraft called Thermacool, and high-output alternators to run them both. Thermawing allows pilots to safely fly through ice encounters and provides pilots of single-engine aircraft the heated wing technology usually reserved for larger, jet-powered craft. Thermacool, an electric air conditioning system, uses a new compressor whose rotary pump design runs off an energy-efficient, brushless DC motor and allows pilots to use the air conditioner before the engine starts.[12]

Highway safety
Safety grooving, the cutting of grooves in concrete to increase traction and prevent injury, was first developed to reduce aircraft accidents on wet runways. Represented by the International Grooving and Grinding Association, the industry expanded into highway and pedestrian applications. Safety grooving originated at Langley Research Center, which assisted in testing the grooving at airports and on highways. Skidding was reduced, stopping distance decreased, and a vehicle’s cornering ability on curves was increased. The process has been extended to animal holding pens, parking lots, and other potentially slippery surfaces.

Improved radial tires
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company developed a fibrous material, five times stronger than steel, for NASA to use in parachute shrouds to soft-land the Viking Lander spacecraft on the Martian surface. Recognizing the durability of the material, Goodyear expanded the technology and went on to produce a new radial tire with a tread life expected to be 10,000 miles (16,000 km) greater than conventional radials.

Chemical detection
NASA contracted with Intelligent Optical Systems (IOS) to develop moisture- and pH-sensitive sensors to warn of corrosive conditions in aircraft before damage occurs. This sensor changes color in response to contact with its target. After completing the work with NASA, IOS was tasked by the U.S. Department of Defense to further develop the sensors for detecting chemical warfare agents and potential threats, such as toxic industrial compounds and nerve agents. IOS has sold the chemically sensitive fiber optic cables to major automotive and aerospace companies, who are finding a variety of uses for the devices such as aiding experimentation with nontraditional power sources, and as an economical "alarm system" for detecting chemical release in large facilities.

Video enhancing and analysis systems
Intergraph Government Solutions developed its Video Analyst System (VAS) by building on Video Image Stabilization and Registration (VISAR) technology created by NASA to help FBI agents analyze video footage. Originally used for enhancing video images from nighttime videotapes made with hand-held camcorders, VAS is a tool for video enhancement and analysis offering support of full-resolution digital video, stabilization, frame-by-frame analysis, conversion of analog video to digital storage formats, and increased visibility of filmed subjects without altering underlying footage. Aside from law enforcement and security applications, VAS has also been adapted to serve the military for reconnaissance, weapons deployment, damage assessment, training, and mission debriefing.