What President Obama Means for Moon Colonization and Private Space Policy (Immediate Action?)

A few months back I did an in-depth analysis of Barack Obama's detailed space plan, but now that he is officially the President-Elect of the United States (and therefore, given the timing of his term, one of the most important figures ever in mankind's integration and colonization of the moon; it is within his first four-year term that the Google Lunar X Prize should be won, and that Astrobotic alone has 6 lunar surface missions planned), it's time to take a look at what change he might bring on early on in his administration.

One thing Obama's space plan detailed that we could see forming perhaps even before he takes office, is the return of the National Aeronautics and Space Council (here's an obviously in-progress Wiki article on it's previous incarnations, which were from 1953-1973 and 1989-1993; beyond that, online background is lacking).

"There is currently no organizational authority in the Federal government with a sufficiently broad mandate to oversee a comprehensive and integrated strategy and policy dealing with all aspects of the government's space- related programs, including those being managed by NASA, the Department of Defense, the National Reconnaissance Office, the Commerce Department, the Transportation Department, and other federal agencies."
-Barack Obama's Space Plan

The Council was a White House entity to help coordinate these sorts of agenices, something that is arguably needed more now than it was in the Space Race era, with the booming private space sector (from Armadillo and Astrobotic to Odyssey Moon and Virgin Galactic, with numerous inbetween) being around, as Obama puts it, to "amplify NASA's reach":

"In achieving this vision, Obama will reach out to include international partners and to engage the private sector to amplify NASA's reach. Obama believes that a revitalized NASA can help America maintain its innovation edge and contribute to American economic growth."
-Paragraph 3 of the Obama Space Plan

As has been much discussed, economic growth is something America could use right about now, and so having a council that strengthens coordination of private and government space efforts (something already underway, an example being the agreement between Odyssey Moon and NASA announced just last week) could in turn, strengthen the role in a recovering American economy of a thriving space sector. The council would greatly amplify the 'amplification of NASA's reach'.

"And that's a major debate I'm going to want to convene when I'm president of the United States. What direction do we take the space program in?"
-Barack Obama, on a couple of occasions on the campaign trail

An interesting blog post from an Obama supporter on the official Obama site talked about the idea of a new National Space Council from a political and practical perspective:

"A National Space Council could be critical to advancing such interagency issues on climate change, space communications, technical innovation, and the commercial uses of space. ...We are missing opportunities because no agency is charged with helping space industries in the way that the Federal government helped the infant aviation industry before World War II."
-Blog post by Gary Oleson on the official Obama campaign site

His post also notes that historically, the National Space Council was chaired by the Vice President; Vice President-Elect Joe Biden was as recently as October involved directly in Obama's space policy, as the sponsor of a waiver to allow the U.S. to buy Soyuz craft from Russia until the Orion craft is ready, something Obama spoke in favor of and then became involved with. Biden also was outspoken as a space advocate in the last days of campaign (though I'm sure Florida had something do to with that).

With Obama already starting to put his Cabinet together, we could see movement on the new National Space Council's creation within the next few weeks and months. The space program certainly is something hopeful and inspiring that Obama could mix in with all the grim challenges, which would be politically invaluable, especially if there's a lot of emphasis on the possibilities of lunar policy (with the Moon, of course, visible to every American on a regular basis as an impromptu symbol of hope).

Keep an eye here for frequent updates as Obama's presidential space policy begins to take even further shape, and check out my original analysis of his space plan for more details on that.

India Launches Chandrayaan 1 Moon Mission (News)

Today, India's Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched it's first lunar mission, the Chandrayaan 1.

An unmanned lunar explorer (a la Japan's Kaguya), the Chandrayaan-1 (which is "moon craft" in Sanskrit) is set to map lunar topography in 3D, creating (as the ISRO puts it) a "3D atlas" and notably, chemical mapping of the lunar surface.

While I haven't found any specific references to helium-3 in any Indian or other documentation of the Chandrayaan project, that prominent "chemical mapping" goal suggests that, like Russia, China, NASA, and others, India is seriously interested in the resource potential of the Moon.

The craft is carrying scientific payloads for six other organizations (check that link for specific pages for each one), including NASA, Europe's ESA, and Bulgaria's Space Research Institute.

This story got some big media play in the form of a huge front-page Drudge Report splash, with a huge picture of the Moon in the place usually reserved for the likes of Obama and McCain. Here's that spectacular image (which ran with an "INDIA TO THE MOON!" headline):

I'm a little surprised at the high-profile coverage, as this Indian mission isn't a whole lot different than JAXA's, which didn't appear to get quite the same sort of media push. I think this speaks to the sort of excitement the Base Race can generate, especially as the significant 2010-2020 decade pulls closer (and as things domestically get more and more grim in the meantime).

The Chandrayaan-1 mission is expected to last for two years, with Chandrayaan-2, a joint Indo-Russian moon rover venture, shooting for 2011.

Eternal Flame? Phoenix Lander Lasting Longer Than Expected

NASA's robotic Mars lander, Phoenix, made news recently as it was snowed on. Let the Martian snowmen and snowball fights commence.

But, a subplot to this event and just as notable in the long run, is that the Phoenix lander has lasted much longer than anticipated.

Originally expected to last 90 Martian days (also known as "sols"; Martian hours, minutes, and seconds are 2.7% longer than Earth ones), the lander has operated for 120+. The Martian winter is settling in, and with the lander being at a pole, that means a long, cold dark and the probable end of the lander's lifespan.

Considering that everything from the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize up through Helium-3 mining and moon base surveying and construction will be completed by similar robotic rovers and other heroic robots, the fact that as high-profile a rover as the Phoenix has proven much more durable than anticipated is great news for any and all forthcoming efforts to integrate, and then colonize the Moon.

Rovers proving more durable means that everything on Luna will get explored, built on, and mined that much faster and more efficiently (and more efficiency itself speeds things up again by freeing up R+D, etc. cash). If rovers and other equipment prove to consistently outperform expectations like the Phoenix has, then the pace of the Moon's integration into our Earthbound society is going to get really wild.

The Phoenix lander's perserverance has shone a bright light of promise into the future of robotic Martian, Lunar, and other missions.

Picture of the Week: It's A Miner Thing, and They're a Miner King

From the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Fusion Technology Institute (by way of the European Space Agency) comes an artist's rendition of a Helium-3 miner.

Helium-3 is a resource that is rare on Earth, but plentiful on the moon. It's drawn a lot of interest, including officially from China and Russia, as the primary fuel for fusion power, which is something of the ultimate power source: clean and efficient, one shuttle's load of Helium-3 from the Moon would be roughly enough to power the United States for one year. And that's just one load!

While fusion probably won't turn up until around 2050, that's about the time we're expected to be running out of fossil fuels and potentially in need of a new energy source. So, the idea among Russia, China, the U.S., and potential commercial efforts would be to get a headstart on collecting the fuel by stockpiling it early, and developing some kind of dominance over the resource in order to gain leverage (and massive profits).

So, as a result, even though we might not be seeing fusion power itself for a while, we'll be seeing (and hearing about) miners like the one above much sooner.

The 2008 Presidential Candidates+NASA's future

Just came across a brand-new and interesting article from Popular Mechanics about the stance of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John McCain on NASA and America's space future.

Providing a roundup of each, Rand Simberg's analysis ends up with it looking like a McCain presidency in particular could spell delays for NASA (as his plan for reducing the federal deficit includes a potential freeze on all domestic discretionary spending), while Clinton is fairly positive and Obama sounds the most seriously interested in the topic (which is not surprising, considering his style of soaring rhetoric and big dreams), despite his education plan including a bit about cutting back or delaying the Constellation program to pay for education.

With the baby boomer generation retiring and the economy generally in a crunch in the first place, the future of the momentum of the Constellation program looks potentially grim. Of course, the Constellation program is far from the only one out there; both foreign efforts and commercial projects are international enough by their nature to be removed from the woes of America. The Moon can move on without us Americans, in other words, and humanity might not skip much of a beat.

Still, things look pretty good for the American effort. We should at least be a part of the Base Race, though this time, we probably won't finish first.

You never know, though; there's still room for the Emperor of the Moon as a dark horse...

The Roster Grows: Europe and India

In the midst of a little research, I discovered two more countries/efforts to add to the Base Race roster:

-Europe (European Space Agency)
-India (Indian Space Research Organization; check out that stylin' website!)

While both have projects underway for manned/unmanned missions, it is noted that I don't see a specific reference to lunar base plans. With all the other governments/governmental organizations making similar preliminary efforts (lunar orbiters, men on the moon around 2015-2016, etc.) also having an eventual base as part of their plans, though, it seems like bases for both the above organizations could be inevitable. Might as well build one while you're there, right? You've already made the effort to get there in the first place, so you can go ahead and mine yourself some nice souvenirs (for the folks back home) that can also happen to potentially power your country for an entire year.

So now we're up to the U.S. , China, Russia, India, Japan, Sweden, and Europe all joining in on the great big Lunar picnic that is the Base Race...and the party's just getting started.

Basics of Moon Colonization, Part 1: When

To get us started here at Luna C/I, here's Part 1 of a quick 'Visitor's Guide' to Moon Colonization, to help you loyal readers get acquainted with the basics of what's rolling with M.C. in the early 21st Century.

Each of the bits noted in these features will be discussed in greater detail in the future, as developments occur and I complete more specific features on each program. So, without further ado, here's the general details on When we'll start seeing lunar bases popping up (and yes, that's plural):

When: The good ol' U.S.A. currently has a plan set down to have construction begin on the Moon for a base in 2019, with the base being completed in 2024. So, in a mere 16 years, the U.S. plans to have its moon base up and operational (with astronauts living there for 6-month shifts, like the Int'l Space Station).

Mind you now that the U.S. is actually not the only country with its sights set on the lunar real estate market. China has plans to have a moon base of its own, in a competitive timeframe to the U.S.', with moon landings and numerous other missions in the next 15-20 years leading up to it. In addition, never being ones to get left behind, the Russians are getting into the act, planning (according to one article) to have a base up around 2025, and according to another planning to have a mine up (for the Earth-rare, but Moon-common fuel resource Helium-3) on the Moon by 2020.

And we're just getting started! Japan's base is planned to be operational by 2030, and even the Swedes have had plans in the works.

So that's no less than five different countries that could have bases on the moon within a mere 25 years (!).

In the 1950's and 60's, we had the 'Space Race'. Now, in the early millenium, it looks like the world is gearing itself up for a 'Base Race'.

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