"......to ensure we will beat China back to the Moon".

Well, there you go. We have another space race in progress, and that is good news to all of us who are getting a bit older. I for one want to be able to see humans walking on the Moon again, and building permanent bases.........but what I want to see most of all is humans making the trip to Mars. Setting foot on another planet completely outside the Earth-Moon system is something that will be truly special.

19 minutes ago, Christopher Low said:

Well, there you go. We have another space race in progress, and that is good news to all of us who are getting a bit older.

Yep..... China are planning a base on the Moon and Mars.

China plans to build a permanent International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) near the Moon's south pole by 2035, with an expanded network operating by 2050. This lunar facility will function as the stepping stone, technological reservoir, and operational staging point for subsequent crewed missions and exploration bases on Mars.

Looking forward to the next mission, where hopefully the astronauts will actually land on the moon. This isn't guaranteed yet, BTW.

I've almost given up hope for a manned mission to Mars in the next 20 years. Without a great leap forward in propulsion technology, a round trip manned mission simply isn't feasible. We need to either double the speed, or half the fuel. Moreover, landing people on the surface of Mars adds a whole other layer of complexity and difficulty - just look at how hard it is to land people on the moon.

Sorry to be so negative, but I prefer to be a realist.

Dave

2 hours ago, dave2013 said:

just look at how hard it is to land people on the moon.

The nice thing about landing on the Moon again is that it will enable us to develop the technology to build habitats, practice resource extraction, harvest water ice, create rocket propellants and do all manner of clever things. It will be a proving ground where new tech will be perfected.

The above tech will be useful when Mars becomes the objective.

Mars will be some time in the 2030's I would think, and probably with the assistance of nuclear thermal or nuclear electric propulsion.

Edited June 13Jun 13 by martin-w

3 hours ago, martin-w said:

Mars will be some time in the 2030's I would think, and probably with the assistance of nuclear thermal or nuclear electric propulsion.

Ever the optimist😀

I hope you're right.

Dave

11 hours ago, dave2013 said:

Ever the optimist😀

I hope you're right.

Dave

I'd like to think half way between optimist and pesimist. 😁