| | Project Apollo todayPage 1 of 1 | Imagine that Project Apollo had the technology of today. With the sort of advances in technology we've had since the 60's, what do you think would have been done differently on the lunar missions?
My immediate thought would be better TV. | |
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| Project Apollo today
Posted: 7/10/2012 3:56:03 AM | 1. Better suits for EVAs
2. Better communications
3. Live twitter feed | |
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| Project Apollo today
Posted: 7/10/2012 9:32:43 AM | They would have brought a far more extensive testing suite.
It would have been a longer mission (ability to store and send more supplies). Live social media interaction, 24/7 live coverage, Nascar style sponsorships, and the mission would have extended over a far larger area geographically.
They also probably would have brought some sort of semi-permanent habitat.
And it would have been multi-cultural and co-ed... | |
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| Project Apollo today
Posted: 7/10/2012 10:47:29 AM | GPS laser guided tracking to zoom in on their location.
So that anyone could zero in on the moon landing site to watch it live.
Then . . . have the astronauts set up a vast layout of intense lights that would be seen from earth.
All conspiracy theories would end.
Question is.... with our advances in technology..... you'd think that it would be easier and cheaper to have another Apollo mission right now. | |
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| Project Apollo today
Posted: 7/10/2012 12:01:19 PM | | Paul ... you're right. Although the technology has improved, we have, as a people, become intensely 'risk-averse'. Couldn't have a high-definition image on the nightly news of a high-velocity micrometeorite punching its way thru a spacesuit on an EVA now, could we ... ? No risk, no reward - but the 'New NASA' isn't interested in the 'reward' part, just the funding part. For everything else, 'exploration' is now known as 'Playing It Safe, Part II'. | |
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| Project Apollo today
Posted: 7/11/2012 10:21:35 AM | My vision of an Apollo mission done today:
Computerization: the capsule used for the transit between high Earth orbit and lunar orbit runs on a single computer that would fit inside a standard ATX case. With the very cold liquid fuels it could have a very efficient cooling system by routing a bit of that fuel through cooling blocks, which would allow for packing in more processing power.
Sensors: the craft would contain a lot of sensors, more than we could have dreamed of using during the original Apollo missions. This would likely be the technological bottleneck of the craft, packing in enough persistent storage devices to buffer the information while it's streamed back to Earth, and keeping the stream contents balanced enough to allow for HD video feed as well.
Cabin: there would likely be less things you could bump into and cause disastrous repercussions, more monitoring equipment than actual flight equipment. Instead of pencils and paper, each astronaut would carry a tablet pc and maybe an optional stylus. Instead of drinking out of pouches with a straw, they'd probably have cups designed to employ "capillary force" for a more natural drinking experience.
Suits: still as clunky as ever. They're made from much lighter materials now, easier to move joints, but mobility has barely improved. I could see the addition of a visor display attached to a small suit computer, these days you can get a computer the size of a USB flash stick for $25 that is powerful enough to run Android and similar mobile OSes. Sprinkle some accelerometer ICs into the suit, and you have a nice monitoring system and navigation system to link to the visor display.
This is just a few things thinking of technology that I can personally get my hands on, I imagine someone looking to do this for real would have access to stuff I've yet to hear about that is even better yet. | |
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| Project Apollo today
Posted: 7/11/2012 10:49:30 AM | | There would not be an Apollo project today. The United States no longer thinks big; and I expect this trend to continue as cuts continue to be made to education and science. The United States will leave the Big Things to the other countries. | |
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| Project Apollo today
Posted: 7/12/2012 3:02:58 PM | | We still can not send a man to the moon and bring him back. If we could , we would. | |
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| Project Apollo today
Posted: 7/12/2012 9:12:05 PM | China is going to the moon.
http://io9.com/5872662/china-is-sending-an-astronaut-to-the-moon | |
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| Project Apollo today
Posted: 7/12/2012 9:53:29 PM |
We still can not send a man to the moon and bring him back. If we could , we would.
You're not one of THOSE guys, are you?
Even the USSR confirmed America's presence on the moon, and they had a vested interest in debunking it if it was false. we don't do it now because it costs too much money. Shuttle was seen as a cheaper alternative (turned out, not by much). | |
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| Project Apollo today
Posted: 7/18/2012 8:57:07 PM | Virgin Apollo Airlines
Moon Lottery Vacations
iPad remote controlled moon buggy races.
The first moon orbit space cruise ship will be called the USS Titanic | |
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| Project Apollo today
Posted: 7/19/2012 4:08:28 PM | This topic is silly. A lot of the technology of today came out of the Apollo project and the motivation behind it, which was the cold war...
...things like cell phones and the internet, satellites, computers. All of our major technological advances rely on these things.
It's like that old expression "...if I knew then what I know now..." | |
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| Project Apollo today
Posted: 7/19/2012 6:21:27 PM |
This topic is silly. A lot of the technology of today came out of the Apollo project and the motivation behind it, which was the cold war...
I think it is silly because it is today and we have the technology of today and the simple answer is that if we had all of today's technology then we wouldn't go. As Paul said... it's scary out there. It is proven by today. We don't go. Now they announce the BS plan to go to mars by 2030. Total BS. It will never happen. Current administration and current collective mentality thinks it is a waste of money and too much risk because the 1% have their boots on the poor masses. | |
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| Project Apollo today
Posted: 7/20/2012 7:53:14 PM | The military complex needs ways to take taxpayers money.
Coming up with ridiculous ideas like a mission to Mars is a great way for the military to squeeze the government for more money through NASA.
Trying to get us all excited about landing a man on Mars..... whatever.
I'd rather the President of the USA make an inspirational speech that places all of the military's and NASA's money and intelligence towards making the USA the first nation to totally eradicate poverty and have the healthiest and smartest people on the planet.
How's the USA doing so far?
USA is #37 in the list of best health systems?
USA.... the blame? . . . the people of USA | |
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| Project Apollo today
Posted: 7/20/2012 8:03:31 PM |
USA is #37 in the list of best health systems?
If that doesn't improve I know who to blame. | |
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