NASA plans to put a base on the moon by 2020

Not new, new, news, but want to keep the sound bytes in front of us in hopes that the idea will really catch on with others as well as you folks on this lunar-update list.

I think it is alright to point and shout, look, look, see what they can do now in space. What do you think we could do if we were really living in space. (have been watching STS-116 http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/ )
- LRK -

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http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2006-12-04-nasa-moon-base_x.htm
NASA plans to put a base on the moon by 2020 Updated 12/4/2006 10:00 PM ET

By Traci Watson, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON - NASA plans to surpass the Apollo missions by establishing a base on the moon that could lead to a permanent human presence on the lunar surface, space agency officials said Monday.

For the first time since President Bush announced in 2004 that American astronauts would return to the moon, NASA has specified what it plans to do once there. No human has set foot on the moon since 1972. That final stay, the longest, lasted three days.

Under the plans outlined Monday, human habitation of the moon would begin in 2020 with four-person crews that would stay for a week. Visits would lengthen until astronauts could live on the base for up to six months at a stretch. This could occur as early as 2024.

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One more link to that has more links to the news articles.
- LRK -

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http://www.spacetoday.net/Summary/3581
NASA unveils lunar base plans
Posted: Tue, Dec 5, 2006, 7:24 AM ET (1224 GMT) Lunar base illustration (NASA) NASA plans to develop a base near one of the poles of the Moon that will be permanently inhabited by 2024. The lunar exploration architecture, unveiled on Monday in Houston, calls for human missions to the Moon to begin by 2020, starting with one-week stays that eventually expand to half-year expeditions. NASA plans to gradually build up a base near one the poles, with the crater Shackleton near the south pole a leading candidate. Bases at those locations would enjoy near-constant sunlight and are also near permanently-shadowed regions that may harbor deposits of water ice. NASA also released Monday what it called the initial elements of a "Global Exploration Strategy" that explains why humans should go to the Moon and what people should do once they're there. The strategy was developed with the assistance of experts in a number of countries, although what roles, if any, those countries may play in the lunar architecture are uncertain.
Related Links:

* CBS News/Spaceflight Now article
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0612/04lunarbases/

* SPACE.com article
http://space.com/news/061204_nasa_moon.html

* New York Times article
> requires subscription<

* NASA SpaceFlight.com article
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=4936

* NASA press release
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2006/dec/HQ_06361_ESMD_Lunar_Architecture.html

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Thanks for looking up with me.
(have dropped SBC e-mail, use Gmail account)

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
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http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2006-12-04-nasa-moon-base_x.htm
NASA plans to put a base on the moon by 2020 Updated 12/4/2006 10:00 PM ET

By Traci Watson, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON - NASA plans to surpass the Apollo missions by establishing a base on the moon that could lead to a permanent human presence on the lunar surface, space agency officials said Monday.

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IMAGE GALLERY: NASA's vision for the moon http://www.usatoday.com/tech/space/moon/flash.htm

Sixteen images from Lockheed Martin Corp.
- LRK -

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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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