Moon to have a permanent colony established by 2020......

although im an astronomy student but still i dont get the point of establishing a base on the moon what good will it be? only that it will cost billions and will have to be maintaned well or else there could be a disaster.making it a launching base or a refueling base for spacecrafts is pointless coz u will have to transport all that fuel & equipment to the moon first so it will only increase the cost in that case. I say instead of wasting billions on that if any1 ever thinks of the poverty in this world and other issues like global pandemics and global wrming are more important thatn that

The fact of the matter is that the moon colony is an example of a secret government project done right out in the open. The colonists are going to be told what an honor it is to to be chosen to go and how smart and patriotic they are. They will believe it. So will most people. The truth will be that all the annoying obnoxious people of the world who everyone would like to be rid of will be sent. You know, people you simply can not kill or imprison as it is not illegal to be unlovable or extreme in your opinions. You know the kind of person I mean. So, while this may seem on the surface to be a giant waste of government money, it does have a useful purpose. This is supposed to be a secret, so don't tell anyone. I know there is no one at MyLot who would qualify as a colonist, so, Shssush....

It seems a bit wasteful, in terms of money and if you think the moon doesn't have any good resources to explore (correct?). It may, however, be a useful experiment on sustaining life outside the planet Earth. Considering that our planet is getting closer to disaster, maybe it's not such a bad idea? Although I agree that it would be better to spend our time, money and effort in preserving the place we call home :(

I personally think that this is a good thing. When I was a child (in the 70s), moon colonies were planned for the end of the 20th Century, so you can understand my current disappointment. 2020 is still a long way away, but it's better than nothing. These permanent settlements will be a first step towards a bigger leap to other planets, then to the stars. Obviously, we should at the same time try to solve the myriads of problems that still plague our Earth. Unfortunately, most of them have been going on for decades, centuries, or even millenia, and there's no sign that things will significantly improve. P.S.: As you may have guessed, "2001, A Space Odyssey" is one of my favourite films! ;)

I believe that the space station set to be constructed on the moon is a gigantic step for mankind! This will be the first effort of it's kind attempted by humanity. NASA is attempting to gather global support on this mission and wants to make it a global effort rather than an american one. I know I'm sounding hopelessly optimistic in saying this, but I feel like this could be a really HUGE step towards more cooperation between nations on a global scale. I also believe that the experience of spending longer periods on the moon (the projected time periods were 6 months, I believe) will tell us a lot about how human beings can deal with the possibilites of living other planets and in lower gravity conditions. It's a giant step toward further space exploration, which I believe man kind is destined to strive for. It's been burning in the blood of men since the days when we first started staring up at the stars from around camp fires.... a thirst for knowledge. The scientific implications in what is to come is just mind blowing! Think of the great strides in the coming years that will be made in different scientific fields in the interest of this mission! There are SO SO many things possible. I think it's wonderful that this is going to happen.

i can reason with oficials when they say that it is a stepping stone to further space travel but im not convinced, as someone above said, it still takes time and energy to take supplies to this base on the moon. travel to the moon is overated and pointless, that is why there has been no missions to the moon recently (by recently i mean in many years) theres simply nothing left to find there, and no reason to be there. even if a base was built, all supplys would have to be ralied there first. it might be usefull if we had the technology to make use of it, for example a freight ship could take bulk supplies of fuel to the moon then a smaller craft would be able to break orbit on the fuel it can carry then refuel at the moon for its mission or whatever it plans on doing. however as of yet we have no small crafts, and space travel isnt as open to the market as everyone would like, you dont look upto the skys and see people taking off! were simply not at that level yet, keyword yet, because we will be. but i think currently nasa, or whoever, should channel all the money and resources to planning for a colonisation of mars, that is what needs to be done, and is a bigger stepping stone to outer space travel, and hopefully inter galaxy travel!

I'm skeptical that it will happen within 13 years. And I can't imagine who would want to live on a cold, dark, airless world, and I have no idea what the benefits of this "colony" would be. But as long as it's done with money from private investors, then it's certainly okay with me.

Just because we probably could, doesnt mean we should.I believe heartily in the space program, but i don't believe in waste, and I think this program would mostly interest paranoid survivalists who live in bomb shelters here om Earth anyhow, who wants a Moon full of that?

i think making a base in the moon is still a distant dream. very few can affort to go to moon. it is really very expensive. there is no air , gravity is 1/6 of earth.how can one have normal life there

no i dont think it is necessary, that money could be spent in many many more worthy ways, however i also think it will happen simply because men ask the question could we? but only rarely should we?

r u belive in dream-stories?i don't. basically this project required large amount of money...billions and billions of dollars..which can be used easily on earth for generation of paradise. secoundly although human being get success to establish a colony on the moon..how much people can live over there..large amount of expenditure is required to maintain permant base of society..which is totally imposible for a common man.. this will held as dream for common people like you and me!! what a stupid attempt which absolutely make no sense rather than to waste mone over there..better is that we should make serious effort to control the population on earth!!!

While there are many things funds could be spent on and many to argue in favor of one or the other, there are some practical aspects to a colony close to earth, ie: the moon. We already know we can land a vehicle and 'take off' from the moon. So in the event of need people who may be there working or living could be evacuated in what we hope would be a timely manner. It isn't so far it would take years to get too, instead of hours. So the transport of materials would be simplified. Such a colony would perhaps give us the opportunity to learn enough to begin thinking of terraforming other satellites or planets into habitation suitable for humans. For all intents and purposes, it appears that efforts to conserve or regenerate our own planet are doomed to failure. We are perhaps only delaying the end with our attempts. As with any proposal, there are pros and cons.

I do think its really necessary nowadays. Because seen this world of ours would be overcrowded. We need to keep up to find another suitable home for our people.

I think that establishing a base on the moon would just be the first step of planetery travel. it would be a much easier place to land because the moon doesnt have a strong atmosphere like the earth so that means it would much easier to land and get ships in and out of.

I think is totally unecessary. Why to go to the moon and creaat a permanent colony while there are millions of people here in Earth that don't have a bread to eat each day?

why not.....as the technolgy improves ...... man has to prove himself that he can do anything.......... it is really necessary

wow i would definately wanna have a house there

I don't think that Neil Armstrong was on the moon and I think that is very soon (2020) to have a permanent colony established on the moon

If you ask me its all to rediculous. I think the world is advancing to quick and there surely will be problems because of this.

yes, i think james view is right. we should consentrate more on earth issues first and should invest money here to remove poverty like problems. On the other hand, moving towards moon is not so urgent as we have enough space on earth!!! Finally how can a bunch of people invest the nation's revenues on their own interest??? Yah going to moon is the interest of a bunch of people....have you heard someone saying that he want to live on moon although he is not able to survive here on earth!!!!