Space habitats beyond LEO

Al Globus alglobus@... [spacesettlers] wrote:

>> Whether de facto or de jure, we had a "moon taboo" that prevented almost
>> all lunar programs for decades after Apollo.
>
> May I remind you of the SEI Bush seniors early 90s plan to return to
> the Moon and Mars?

That's an interesting point. But the 90-day review of this program [1]
barely mentions the Moon. The key points (page x) are:

1. Space station.
2. "...an aggressive approach to reach Mars at the earliest possible time".
3. A mission architecture incorporating a variety of concepts; "One
concept for example, would place the permanent human habitat in orbit,
rather than on the surface of Mars." (They're talking about Mars orbit
here, not Earth or lunar orbit.)

The Moon does get a couple of passing mention on page xii, both times in
the stock phrase "Moon and Mars" and in the context of life sciences and
geology.

However, we did get Clementine in '94 and Lunar Prospector in '98 (Bush
Sr. served from '89 to '93), so I guess this supports your point.
Perhaps I need to give both Bushes some credit for lifting the Moon
taboo. (Though I suspect that cause & effect may be rather tangled in
the case of those missions.)

> There is also a Moon program circulating in Congress RIGHT NOW to use
> CCDev-style funding to return to the Moon. This plan has been the
> subject of numerous space articles and was funded by NASA.

Yes, though circulating plans is a long way from building (or funding)
hardware. We'll see what actually comes of it.

>> Lifting that taboo was one
>> of the best things Bush did in his tenure, and I found it quite
>> regrettable that Obama's comments effectively put it back.
>
> You are misinformed. There was no taboo and is no taboo, quite the
> contrary as noted above.

Nonsense. There most certainly WAS a taboo. From [2]: "NASA
accordingly proposed the Lunar Observer Mission, with an estimated price
tag of $350-$500 million. Congress would have nothing to do with it, not
with any lunar mission. NASA requests for a start were rejected year
after year."

Alan Binder had to campaign for many years to get Lunar Prospector off
the ground, and for that matter to convince the Clementine architects to
map the Moon. Prior to that, any lunar mission proposal, no matter how
cheap or how great the scientific return might be, was dead before it
even began. The "thou shalt not return to the Moon" rule was unwritten
but very strong.

> There was a Congressionally mandated taboo on NASA Mars studies for a
> few years some time back. Perhaps that is what you were thinking of.

No. I'm thinking of the long decades when those of us interested in
developing the Moon met a stone wall at every turn.

[1] http://history.nasa.gov/90_day_review.pdf

[2]
http://www.moonsociety.org/publications/mmm_papers/lp_prehistory_paper.htm

Best,
- Joe