MSNBC reports that NASA wants a 'beachhead' on the moon. Beachhead, like the marine term for amphibious landings -- although proper analysis of the term also requires me to point out that beachhead could be a euphemism for public displays of fellatio on a sandy coastline.

Here's the actual headline so you don't need to click the link:
NASA plans bigger moon base, sporty rovers
Space agency wants to land three large habitats to build moon beachhead

Beyond having fun with the term beachhead the article also mentions 3 habitats and 2 rovers capable of two week treks on the lunar surface.

A nice documentary that lays out NASA's plan to build a space colony and the technology involved in the venture. In the video they cover the development and testing of new space suits, lunar habitats, mining the surface of the moon, extracting water and oxygen from lunar soils, and how the O

NASA is being directed by the US congress to continue with a project to put a robot on the moon. I wonder if this decision has anything to do with plans from China, Japan, India, et al to re-visit the moon for mapping and data gathering missions. Probably, huh?

The Lunar Reconnaisance Orbiter was originally scheduled to land on the moon in 2011. It is part of the Lunar Precursor and Robotics Program that was originally planned to pre-date the installation of a moon colony.

The article contains a lot more information in ways that Congress is changing around the proposed NASA budget.

MIT has developed a piece of software called SpaceNet 1.3 which is designed to manage Earth-Moon supply logistics. The software will ensure a steady supply of equipment and consumables to settlements on the Moon and, in the future, Mars.

The inflatable structure is made of multilayer fabric and looks like an ungainly white robot with legs. The main unit is 12 feet in diameter and 18 feet tall. It has a volume of about 1,600 cubic feet and is connected to an airlock, also inflatable. The two spaces are essentially pressurized cylinders, connected by an airtight door. The concept design has been delivered to NASA Langley by ILC Dover for testing.

MSNBC has an article about possible and planned spin-offs for the moon colony. Evidently capital is currently being raised to fund a private telescope on the southern pole of the moon. Other possible private money making ventures for the moon include; medical isotopes, helium-3 mining, and television shows. My first thought when television was mentioned was a Real World spin off, or possibly some sort of weird Survivor. However they have in mind more of a camera controlled robotically from Earth.

In this article from the Guardian, Harrison Schmitt talks about mobility in low gravity environments. Schmitt used a bunny hop motion, borrowed from skiing, to traverse the moon's surface during the Apollo mission. Using this method he was able to move around the surface much quicker than his crew mates.

Schmitt goes on to discuss the possibility that skiing on the moon's surface may prove to be one of the primary forms of entertainment for early settlers on the moon. He even has a location picked out to catch some slope time, the Taurus-Littrow valley. Hopefully the ski-lodge located along the ridge of that valley will be named Schmitt - although 'Hagan' has a better ring for a ski lodge.

Keith Henson talks with RU Sirius in this interview for 10 Zen Monkeys. Keith Henson was recently in the news for being a 'Scientology Fugitive'. He evidently was in some trouble with the law caused by some tiff he was in with a Scientologist. More information on the arrest from 10 Zen Monkeys

Interestingly, Keith Henson was also the co-founder of the L5 society and involved with a group called the Extropy Institute. Both were ill fated groups, but they achieved a certain level of press during the 70's and 80's.

MSNBC published a neat article outlining what is being done to design habitats for the moon colony. NASA's Constellation Program Office seems to be coordinating the effort.

The main thrust of the lunar habitat projects are inflatable dwellings. The reason for this is that the planned payload of the Orion ships are only 13,000 pounds. Space Station modules, which are apparently the only other option for lunar habitats, weigh up to 30,000 pounds.

Beyond talks with Lockheed and Boeing, NASA is talking with several other private contractors to help design and possibly build these inflatable habitats. One company is Bigelow Aerospace, who has already launched one of their inflatable habitat designs into orbit, and has a second test launch planned for April, 2007. The second company is ILC Dover. They have built a prototype for a NASA funded test in Antarctica.

NASA will continue missions to the international space station through 2020 with the, as yet undeveloped and unbuilt, Orion space craft until 2020. The current plan for shuttle fleets from NASA is to run missions using the current fleet until 2010. Between 2010 and 2014, NASA will rely on international partners to resupply the space station. In 2014 the fleet will be replaced with the Orion shuttle. The Orion Shuttle will run missions to the space station and the moon between 2010 and 2020. NASA plans to run at least two missions per year to the space station using the Orion Shuttle as well as missions in support of the planned moon colony.

Wired magazine reports that NASA's moon base project may set off a race to the moon for nuclear fuel. The moon is rich in Helium-3, which can be used to power nuclear fusion reactors. The Fusion Technology Institute headed by Harrison Hagan Schmitt and Gerald Kulcinski have produced a small helium-3 fusion reactor in a basketball sized device. The device continually provided about one milliwatt of power.

HOUSTON – NASA on Monday unveiled the initial elements of the Global Exploration Strategy and a proposed U.S. lunar architecture, two critical tools for achieving the nation's vision of returning humans to the moon.

NASA's basic plan is to send robotic exploration landers to one of the poles of the moon. These robtic landers will conduct basic plotting of the territory and perhaps preparation for a human crew. Human crews will arrive at the moon base in short shifts initially before long term crews are stationed there. The moon base will be solar powered.

NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale, who is guiding the long-term strategy development effort among 14 of the world's space agencies, said, "This strategy will enable interested nations to leverage their capabilities and financial and technical contributions, making optimum use of globally available knowledge and resources to help energize a coordinated effort that will propel us into this new age of discovery and exploration."

Lunar outpost bugeting unclear

It only seems reponsible to not release budget figures for an 18 year project. NASA doesn't plan on this space station being operable until 2024. If they released a figure for 18 years of research, development, and equipment the public would shit. Can you imagine what would happen if military expenditures for the next 18 years were calculated and released? HA!

NASA plans to build a permanent moon base.

First of all, I would like to say sweet!

Secondly, I would like to say that I wish it wasn't NASA pushing this idea forward. Especially not during the Bush adminstration. With the Bush administrations stated objective of establishing military control of outer space this moon base idea seems a little bit dubious. My paranoia is somewhat worsened by my recent reading of Robert Heinlein's 'Expanded Universe'. One of his future predictions is the establishment of a moon base for the express purpose of lobbing bombs on enemy nations from space. Heinlein's idea is that the gravity well of earth would make the moon a wonderful low cost replacement for inter-continental rocket technology. My paranoia boils down to this - we would be building a moon base to 'drop' bombs on people.