![]() ![]() In the meantime, speculation about the U.S.'s future in space has reached its highest point in recent memory, as made clear here last week by the proceedings of the 48th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC). At the meeting, scientists unleashed the latest findings regarding Earth's moon, Mars, asteroids, comets and myriad other cosmic objects of interest, often with a hopeful eye toward rekindling human voyages to other worlds. Although robotic probes are the persistent currency of discovery in today's planetary science, many researchers increasingly see astronauts as crucial agents of exploration in the not-too-distant future. You can't be a Martian without being a lunatic, suggests Clive Neal, a lunar scientist at the University of Notre Dame. Here on Earth destructive geologic processes cloud our view of those long-gone formative eons, Kring says. Even on modern-day Mars, a planet far more inert than Earth, many of the answers we might seek to our solar system's deepest mysteries have been erased by the slow workings of geology. Kring also sees the moon as a gateway to Mars. "We have to have legitimate, meaningful milestones on our way to Mars," he explains. The question is how do you get there? I don't think we're going to develop the right workforce with the capabilities to magically get to Mars by 2035 or 2045. We need to develop the techniques and the workforce for that leap, and that can happen in and on the moon." Every Martian is a LunaticĪccording to Clive Neal, a lunar scientist at the University of Notre Dame, any moon-versus-Mars argument is a nonstarter. "It's not either-or," he says, because the moon can enable Mars by tapping lunar resources to support a sustainable human expansion deeper into the solar system. ![]() "You can't be a Martian without being a lunatic," Neal says. But you'll never go back, because that's Apollo - a fantastic program, but it was not sustainable." "If you want to do 'flags and footprints,' go to Mars now. To Neal, Earth's satellite is first and foremost a world rich in resources that can and should be used. For example, he pointed to sun-shy craters at the lunar poles, where near-constant darkness has trapped and preserved water ice ripe for conversion into oxygen, water and rocket propellant. "We have to do some basic geologic prospecting," he says. It does not store any personal data."And if the moon's resources are shown to be substantial, "you then bring the Moon into our economic sphere of influence. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. ![]() The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". ![]() These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. ![]()
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