Runways on the Moon?

Jay,

Take a look at my article on the "Lunar Dragger" :-

http://hometown.aol.com/cfrjlr/space/index.html

Here is a relevant exract:-

"Final
soft landing on the Moon is the most demanding part of the mission. At a perilune
altitude of 10 kilometers an orbital velocity of 1500 metres/second must be reduced to
zero within about 50 seconds. This is a gee force of three earth gravities. The time limit
of 50 seconds is the time it takes to drop to the lunar surface from 10 kilometers up,
landing with an impact speed of 180 metres/sec ( 400 miles per hour). The dragger can
only reduce horizontal velocities, not vertical velocities, so the final 180 m/s vertical
component will be counteracted by a rocket engine resulting in a soft landing. For
unmanned payloads an impact velocity of 180 m/s could be accommodated by airbags
without the need for rocket engines at all, even human beings could survive this impact
with cushioning and/or airbags if the rocket engine failed. "