See Maria's summary for clever title....
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/science/space/20nasa.html
Michael D. Griffin, administrator for NASA, announced Monday, a $104 billion plan to send astronauts back to the Moon by 2018. The plan would use a spacecraft similar to that of the Apollo command capsule in the original Moon program. The new plan has astronauts riding in the crew exploration vehicle perched on top of the rockets that propel it into space. NASA says that this way is ten times as safe as the normal shuttle, with a projected failure rate of 1 in 2,000. The wingless craft could carry a crew of four people to the Moon. The actual landing would be broken into stages in which much trading off of the passengers would be done.
Lockheed Martin Corporation and a team headed by the Boeing Company and Northrop Grumman, have been given $28 million contracts and are competing to build a more efficient form of the crew exploration vehicle. NASA is expected to select the winning design next spring.
The plan has drawn a mixture of criticism and praise from lawmakers and space experts.
The Apollo 11 mission to the Moon blasted off on July 16, 1969, landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969, and returned to Earth on July 24, 1969. The crew consisted of Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, while Collins did not actually land on the Moon he was part of the crew (he stayed behind on the Columbia to watch the Eagle carry Armstrong and Aldrin to the surface of the Moon).
Michael D. Griffin, administrator for NASA, announced Monday, a $104 billion plan to send astronauts back to the Moon by 2018. The plan would use a spacecraft similar to that of the Apollo command capsule in the original Moon program. The new plan has astronauts riding in the crew exploration vehicle perched on top of the rockets that propel it into space. NASA says that this way is ten times as safe as the normal shuttle, with a projected failure rate of 1 in 2,000. The wingless craft could carry a crew of four people to the Moon. The actual landing would be broken into stages in which much trading off of the passengers would be done.
Lockheed Martin Corporation and a team headed by the Boeing Company and Northrop Grumman, have been given $28 million contracts and are competing to build a more efficient form of the crew exploration vehicle. NASA is expected to select the winning design next spring.
The plan has drawn a mixture of criticism and praise from lawmakers and space experts.
The Apollo 11 mission to the Moon blasted off on July 16, 1969, landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969, and returned to Earth on July 24, 1969. The crew consisted of Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, while Collins did not actually land on the Moon he was part of the crew (he stayed behind on the Columbia to watch the Eagle carry Armstrong and Aldrin to the surface of the Moon).
posted by Anonymous | 10:02 PM
1 Comments:
Normally, I hate repeating my comments, but since you and Maria both wrote about the mission to the moon, here it is: The first moon missions were rooted in the Cold War; JFK promised the country we would reach the moon before the Soviets, as a show of strength and technological advancement. What do you think is the advantage of going now?
intellectuals, inc.
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