01-16-2004, 08:00 PM
The only reasonable space program I could see manifest in my lifetime with any practical scientific merit would the the creation of a manned facility on Luna. Planetary exploration will not derive any immediate benefit and would stand to drain focus and resources to a lunar program that will achieve results.
That program? The fabrication and utilization of a very large optical telescope on the far side of Luna. The Hubble Space Telescope has an advantage over Earthbound scopes in that it it beyond any atmospheric haze. It's weakness lies in the fact that it is a comparatively small telescope compared to the Earthbounds.
The largest single-mirror reflecting telescopes on Earth are limited to their size by the pull of Earth's gravity. The sheer weight of the glass used to make these mirrors increase in proportion to their sizeâ go beyond the limit, and the weight of the mirror will pull the optics out of shape.
A very large telescope on Luna, one that is constructed there, will gain advantages over both Hubble and the Earthbound telescopes. First of all, the lack of an obscuring atmosphere on the moon. Secondly, the lesser gravity means the lens will weigh less, allowing such an optic to be fabricated much larger than is feasible on Earth. Thirdly, a lunar night lasts two Terran weeks. Earthbound optical telescopes are limited to operations at night, after all, and night only lasts hours on Earth. Night on the moon lasts many, many days.
With such a telescope, astronomical research would take a massive leap in depth of potential.
That program? The fabrication and utilization of a very large optical telescope on the far side of Luna. The Hubble Space Telescope has an advantage over Earthbound scopes in that it it beyond any atmospheric haze. It's weakness lies in the fact that it is a comparatively small telescope compared to the Earthbounds.
The largest single-mirror reflecting telescopes on Earth are limited to their size by the pull of Earth's gravity. The sheer weight of the glass used to make these mirrors increase in proportion to their sizeâ go beyond the limit, and the weight of the mirror will pull the optics out of shape.
A very large telescope on Luna, one that is constructed there, will gain advantages over both Hubble and the Earthbound telescopes. First of all, the lack of an obscuring atmosphere on the moon. Secondly, the lesser gravity means the lens will weigh less, allowing such an optic to be fabricated much larger than is feasible on Earth. Thirdly, a lunar night lasts two Terran weeks. Earthbound optical telescopes are limited to operations at night, after all, and night only lasts hours on Earth. Night on the moon lasts many, many days.
With such a telescope, astronomical research would take a massive leap in depth of potential.
Political Correctness is the idea that you can foster tolerance in a diverse world through the intolerance of anything that strays from a clinical standard.