www.ditl.org

USSEnterprise wrote: We aren't really using Earth bound alternate fuels, what makes you think we'll use an extraterrestrial source?

Not for use on Earth, for rockets. IE: build your ships on Earth or in orbit and use the moon as a gas station.

Cpl Kendall wrote:

USSEnterprise wrote: We aren't really using Earth bound alternate fuels, what makes you think we'll use an extraterrestrial source?

Not for use on Earth, for rockets. IE: build your ships on Earth or in orbit and use the moon as a gas station.

The low gravity makes the possibility of using railguns to launch stuff into orbit a feasible idea; craft on the way elsewhere could just drop into orbit to pick up fuel, and in the long run, it would be a lot cheaper than launching deep space missions directly from Earth.

Also, if we don't do it, there are a number of other countries with an eye on Lunar real estate.

I see, I guess it would be nice to have people up in space when we finally blow ourselves up, at least not all of humanity will die

USSEnterprise wrote:I see, I guess it would be nice to have people up in space when we finally blow ourselves up, at least not all of humanity will die

This is the most important reason right here. Some else mentioned that it's silly to do this when the economy is in the pooper, to which I will respond that if we lose what little momentum we have in this area, we may never get it back.

Tsukiyumi wrote:
The low gravity makes the possibility of using railguns to launch stuff into orbit a feasible idea; craft on the way elsewhere could just drop into orbit to pick up fuel, and in the long run, it would be a lot cheaper than launching deep space missions directly from Earth.

Also, if we don't do it, there are a number of other countries with an eye on Lunar real estate.

True, though I'm not sure how we get around the rail ablation problem without some better materials then we have now. Still replacing rails might be cheaper than the current system even if they only last one shot.

They're also working on a way to use carbon nanotubes to make a space elevator, though thats years off.