THE NEW RACE TO THE MOON?

I always believed that more than National Pride, more than who was the better technologically, and whatever other spitting contest was going on that the space race also held some political &/or legal gain. Basically that it came down to property rights. Although I am not sure exactly how or even if that ever really got solved.

So in the interest of our Nation, Technological advancement, betterment of all kind, oh, and for a 51 state or a new U.S. Territory, the USA will have to hurry in what appears to be shaping up as the new race to the moon!

Apparently the plan held by the Russian Federal Space Agency has as its final goal (by 2037) a robotic lunar base that will have a solar power station, a long-range research rover, as well as dedicated satellites that will meet whatever needs will be there at that time. Along the way to 2037 are many steps. First there is an unmanned space craft they call: Luna Glob (it means Moon Globe.)Then they have two orbited followed by two rovers that will study terrain and soil and bring samples back to Earth for even more study. Next a orbiter/rover mission will explore the South pole for about one year. (the planned moonbase is pictured below)

Of course Russia has experienced some bad luck in its space history. From the long ago Spudnik days to the more recent Soyuz, and of course the Phobus-Grunt probe, Russia has had some problems. The Luna Glob is no exception. The Luna Glob was due to have completed last year, but financial difficulties interfered. Supposedly Russia is back on track. So what now?

The USA and NASA have space dreams. Their plan is to have an outpost on the moon by 2025. Who is going to get the property rights and also benefit from the other guys failure? Might as well toss a coin, but with all that NASA has going on and their partnership with DARPA in many areas, I would put good money on….Let’s see what happens!