NASA could colonise the Moon by 2022 and it wouldn’t actually be that expensive, thanks to 3D printing, robots and SpaceX.
According to the New Space papers via Popular Science, we could set up a small lunar base for $10 billion or less, and we could do it by 2022.
Above: Artist concept of a moon colony. Credit NASA
NASA astrobiologist Chris McKay explains in the journal New Space:
“The reason all the previous plans for going back to the moon have failed is that they’re just way too expensive. The space program is living in a delusion of unlimited budgets, which traces back to Apollo.”
He added:
“My interest is not the Moon. To me the Moon is as dull as a ball of concrete. But we’re not going to have a research base on Mars until we can learn how to do it on the Moon first. The Moon provides a blueprint to Mars.”
NASA’s Alexandra Hall and NextGen Space’s Charles Miller in one of the papers, said:
“The US could lead a return of humans to the surface of the Moon within a period of 5-7 years from authority to proceed at an estimated total cost of about $10 billion (±30 percent).”
As Jurica Dujmovic, that’s cheaper than one US aircraft carrier.
via popsci
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