Europa and Titan two different worlds to explore

by Dave Adams

November 26, 2012 | 0 comments

Europa and Titan are the two most interesting and different Moons in our solar system. Europa is an icy shell that probably harbors a salty ocean underneath. A rover with a heat missile of some design should be able to melt its way to the inside and find out if there is life. Titan has a nitrogen atmosphere that uses methane vapor for it's hydrological cycle, and probably frozen water underneath its surface. We need to send a rover to each to discover if we find life there and if man could survive there.

The question posed was "What do you want to see next in space exploration?"

by Bertman L. Plummer

November 26, 2012 | 0 comments

What I want to see next in space exploration is a lunar base/facility. Robotics certainly can do a lot of advance work but mankind’s curiosity is responsible for pushing limits hence manned exploration will continue. Robotics as they exist today cannot perform prolonged operations in the environment of the Moon and asteroids are likely to mirror that environment. I want to see the United States of America retain leadership in manned exploration. I want the benefits from this exploration to be global. My vision for the future of our planet is not one based on corporations futures as depicted in ... more »

A metro connection with the Moon

by Sergio Sestili

November 26, 2012 | 0 comments

Hi, my first vision for the future is the realization of a permanent space station in orbit around the Moon (let's call it IMSS) and a direct connection between ISS and IMSS. IMSS would be equipped with hardware to land to the surface of the moon and take off to come back to the IMSS. In this way a Moon mission would be divided in 3 smaller flights, Earth-ISS, ISS-IMSS (no need for landing vehicle), IMSS-Moon surface and back. Possibly the same "3 stop metro" idea could be replicated toward Mars. As the following step I'd see Mars and from ... more »

A MARS BASE & A MOON BASE!!

by Manlio Walliser

November 26, 2012 | 0 comments

Ruth Wise is right! We need to establish bases and maintain them on the Moon and Mars. It might take longer than 25 years but this is where we need to have people living on a permanent basis.

Europa

by Rene Lawand

November 26, 2012 | 0 comments

Europe offers us the best window into life in our solar system. This search will not be exclusive for microbes but for species evolution. Imagine how many questions will be answered with a positive result. Space exploration is the search for knowledge. Europa is our best hope in this search.

Landers on Venus

by Darren J. Hron

November 26, 2012 | 0 comments

I'd like for us to try Venus surface exploration again. Mars may be the first place beyond the moon for humans, but there seems to be a lack of interest with Venus. It is an extraordinary attempt with the conditions being so different, but I think if we can get a functional lander, and the press the curiosity lander got with Mars, we could revitalize some space dreams. The Soviet Union landed decades ago, but there has been nothing since. I think we have a lot to learn from a direct surface exploration, and are sadly ignoring our sister planet.

My Personal Vision

by Obie Hunt

November 26, 2012 | 0 comments

I'd like space exploration to "start over" so to speak. By that I mean leave the universe in a pristine condition, not pollute it like we're doing to the Earth. I would like us to use the many resources available to us to benefit mankind and all living creatures both on and off the Earth. I know, despite the vast knowledge of the universe that we have accumulated there is so much more to discover. I hope we will use that knowledge wisely.

Nuclear fission reactors for piloted deep space vehicles

by Stephen Schmitt

November 26, 2012 | 0 comments

Nuclear fission reactors can provide the large quantities of energy needed to propel piloted interplanetary and possibly interstellar spacecraft. Chemical energy will very likely prove to be impractical for piloted space travel much beyond the moon. Some form of solar energy could be developed to reach Mars. However, it is likely that more ambitious goals would take hold once Mars is reached. Solar energy technology probably could not be improved upon for piloted space travel further from the sun than Mars, so an investment in this technology probably would be lost.

Development of nuclear fission reactor technology for space travel applications ... more »

Lights, color, action!

by Mark Martel

November 26, 2012 | 0 comments

Consider Saturn, in many ways the most wondrous planet. Color images taken by the Voyager and Pioneer spacecraft of the late 70s still far outshine most of the monochrome images sent back from Cassini. The public wants to see and feel something awesome, something that tells them something new yet relatable about the universe around them. The key elements behind great nature films are amazing scenery, artistically filmed in gorgeous color, through living, moving pictures that progressively reveal those new environments to us. A rich, orchestral soundtrack amplifies the emotional story. Turn off the sound next time you view a ... more »

Wouldn't it be grand to terraform Mars?

by Peter Sereque

November 26, 2012 | 0 comments

I can't remember when I could not read. My favorite things to read in my teen years were scientific articles and science fiction--Ray Bradbury, Isaac Azimov and others. At 70, I still read Scientific American, Discover, Smithsonian, etc. In this era of budgetary constraints it probably makes the most sense to continue unmanned explorations for awhile. These, however, will never fully satisfy mankind's desire to actually go where we want to explore. Unless there are fundamental changes in our theories of physics, we will never be able to explore much further than the limits of our own solar system. For ... more »

MINE ASTEROIDS - SUPPORT SPACE TOURISM - INDUSTRIALIZE SPACE FOR MANUFACTURING

by Greg Roadruck

December 3, 2012 | 2 comments

I sent Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson a request to review the content of this website. He requested I provide a shortened, concise version of this site and this is the results of that communication. Thank You Dr. Tyson. I'm starting a movement - perhaps an actual organization - whose goal it is to Save Our Species by promoting the industrialization, colonization, recreational use space and the exploitation of the resources of our Solar System for the ultimate result of saving our species. You and I both know we will become extinct one way or another. We don't need to be ... more »

Men on the Moon

by Bob Hazlett

December 2, 2012 | 0 comments

As a young boy in the late '60s we lived in Cocoa Beach, FL. I was lucky enough to see most of the Apollo rockets go off (and a good many of the early shuttle missions as well, later on). I clearly remember when the Apollo 11 mission landed on the moon, going out and looking up at the moon and thinking "there are people up there right now". What kid wouldn't be inspired by something like that?

Men in space

by Joe Knapp

November 28, 2012 | 0 comments

My earliest space-related memory was in 1960, gathering with neighbors at the end of our cul-de-sac and looking up at the bright Echo-1 satellite passing overhead. I guess there was a notice in the newspaper to go out and see it. Memorable, although at age 5 I didn't really grasp the significance.

The Gemini program and the space race with the USSR was a different story that totally captured my imagination, to the point of staying home from school to watch the launches. It was very frustrating in the beginning because the Soviets were first in every measure: first to orbit, ... more »

Martian Wonderlust In The 1950's

by Kevin F. Owens

December 18, 2012 | 0 comments

In 1950 when I was six my folks took me to see the drive-in movie ‘Destination Moon’. That film, about the first manned mission to the Moon, sparked my enthusiasm for space adventures. Afterwards, I retrieved some empty cardboard refrigerator cartons from an appliance store, and with some scrap wood, a few tools, and some crayons I converted those boxes into a play rocket ship for my own imaginary trips to the Moon. In the evenings I could look up at the Moon, the planets, and the stars. That was where adventure was for a child with an active imagination. ... more »

Mars 1956

by Ralph Pass

November 28, 2012 | 0 comments

It was August 1956 and my younger brother pointed to the sky and said "That is Mars". After a typical brother banter of "no it isn't", 'yes it is", my wise father said that until I could prove it wasn't Mars, then my brother was right. I had my mother take me to the library where I got "The Golden Book of Astronomy". There I learned enough to show my brother was wrong and prepared me to track Sputnik the following year. I was hooked on space and eventually worked on all the manned lunar landings.

Manned Space Flight

by Michael Gross

December 2, 2012 | 0 comments

My interest in space started at a very young age. I was 6 when my dad took me to the Hayden Planetarium. Also, around the same Sputnik and then the US satellite Explorer 1 was launched. I spent alot of time reading books on Astronomy and when Project Mercury started I watched every launch wether at home or in class. I was always interested in all the sciences

Lure of the Unknown

by Chris Cannon

December 2, 2012 | 0 comments

In one of my children's science books was a table of planetary data that I enjoyed perusing; but in the space for Pluto's rotation period it said "unknown". The intrigue of that single word spurred a lifelong interest in astronomy, with a strong planetary emphasis. Happily -- over 40 years later -- I now have that info: about 6 days 9 hrs. And soon I'll get to see the icy worldlet close up, when New Horizons arrives there.

Love and the Stars

by Lloyd Peterson

December 2, 2012 | 0 comments

When I was a college student at Mankato State I elected to take a course in Astronomy as part of my science major. During the class I met a pretty girl and I convinced her that it would be in our best interests to seek a dark lonesome hillside to study the stars. To my surprise she agreed. We went to a spot I knew, studied the stars and listened to a disc jockey spin big band music. I still love the stars and she married the disc jockey

Looking up since 1969

by Aurore

December 3, 2012 | 0 comments

When I was four years old Neil Armstrong walked on the Moon. I remember this all too well, as there was a live television broadcast and our family was riveted to the tube watching it. Growing up in a somewhat rural [at the time] part of Canada we had naturally ocurring darkskies [today its unlilely to be this way] and so stargazing was a pleasure of mine. Having such dark skies permitted seeing the Milky Way Galaxy every night with amazing clarity. With cold winters always came the Aurora Borealis which sometimes shone in a brilliant pinkish hue. I haven't ... more »

Looking at the stars at night

by Jim Mattingly

November 29, 2012 | 0 comments

During the 50s, I grew up on a farm in Kentucky. I had an uncle that was only a few months older than me. The two of us, sometimes other cousins or friends, would go camping during the warm summer months. We would lay and look at the stars and wonder what was out there. I tried to learn the stars, but my only source of information was the school library which was only available during the school year and being in a farming community it had very limited information on the stars. So I became a science fiction nut. ... more »