This week I read an article about a brand new moon rover that NASA is calling the "Chariot". Compared to lunar vehicles in the past, this piece of machinery is incredibly high-tech and thought out. It includes six wheel drive, an attached pressurized cabin and technology akin to that of SUVs for stability and maneuverability. Past crafts or "buggies" faced a few issues in navigation and traveling capabilities; for instance that the buggy could barely travel 7 miles an hour, did not have rechargable batteries, which in turn restricted its roaming range to less than a 5 mile radius. NASA hopes to put a new team of astronauts back on the moon by 2020, although they may be facing delays after the election this November. Both candidates propose to hold off on lunar exploration. Barack Obama suggests a delay of 5 years so that the money can be used for an educational reform, and John McCain plans to hold off for a year to reduce the federal defecit. No matter when this project gets to actually reach the moon, scientists are continueing to test and improve it. It is currently being test driven through moon-like terrain in Arizona by former lunar buggy drivers so that NASA can get the best imput in design. I found this article quite interesting because space exploration is very important for scientific developement in our society, and it would be really exciting to see more austronauts reach the moon. I was also surprised to find political connections in this article considering the important election we are about to have. Especially for that reason, I would recommend this article to someone who would like more information on the plans of either of the presidential candidates in regard to the scientific future of the US.
LINK to article
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In our advanced culture of ridiculously awesome technology, the simple act of reading is often passed over in favor of mind-numbing activities involving staring at a screen. In this blog I hope to combine the polar opposites of advanced technology and simple reading into one happy package. Actually I am creating this because I have no choice. You have to love school blogs. So enjoy reading my comments on this year's outside reading.
3 comments:
How interesting. I agree with our political candidates that lunar exploration is the biggest waste of money on this planet (ha, get it? On this planet? anyway...). Even still I find watching real people in real time land on the moon would be amazing and enlightening. Going to the moon would be quite the experience though I'm afraid if I ever did I wouldn't get anything done for the team. Bouncing around would easily take collecting rocks off my list. As for going to Mars, maybe a bit more point to it, but very expensive. To the scientists of the last buggie to reach Mars, kudos on everything but the batteries. How could not have rechargable batteries? Do I here the word stupidity?
I agree with Justin that the presidential candidates should have more important priorities than traveling to the moon. Also, while I think that this new lunar vehicle sounds like a good addition to technology, I don't think it's the most practical thing for our country to pour money into. If it was up to me, I would spend more money on the environment issues we have on our own planet before exploring other planets.
Going to the moon is great, but WHY? Haven't we established that there is nothing very interesting up there? And if there was something interesting, why haven't we been up there for 20 years? I think that if we are only going up to show off, that is the biggest waste of money ever. We should be getting rid of our dept, improving schools, and saving social security before we worry about the moon. Sorry.
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