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Europe does have plans to explore the Moon and to use this knowledge to increase there prescence in space.
I might have been wrong about the 100 tonne figure, wiki says :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariane_M
Payload to LEO
90,000kg (198,000lb)
Payload to GTO
45,000 kg (99,000lb)
Launch History
Status Not developed
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This is due to Iraq being an economic disaster zone everything has to be rebuilt and repaired and im not just talking about the Goverment.
Scientists from the Ulysses mission have proven that sounds generated deep inside the Sun cause the Earth to shake and vibrate in sympathy. They have found that Earth’s magnetic field, atmosphere and terrestrial systems, all take part in this cosmic sing-along.
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my latest suggestion to solve the Ares-I/Orion problems, a "Family of Orions": http://www.gaetanomarano.it/articles/031easyways.html
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the concept looks a bit radical
Ride the first SIA A380/Dreamliner first flight slips into late September
No. 83 - Near Sun Hibernation Mode.The reporting period covers a period of four weeks of uninterrupted Near Sun Hibernation Mode for Rosetta
Joseph P. Gavin has come out with remarks that seem to be anti-Moon and kind of pessimistic. The remarks are similar in tone to those made by John Young, unfortunatley that post has been lost when ciclops admitted deleting it.
If I find another article on 'the stick' I'll post it here
“The argument that the Moon is a necessary training base for eventual manned expeditions to Mars is flatly unpersuasive,” says Gavin, who directed development of the first manned spacecraft ever to land on another body in space.
Impact Craters in Tyrrhena Terra
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM72PB474F_index_0.html
No. 86 - Venus Express update
http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object … ctid=41184
I know that
but still couldn't find a more appropriate place to post
If you want to make a new thread then go ahead
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM8MIXXV2F_index_0.html
Assessment of ESA’s ATV mission readiness results in a new launch window
14 June 2007
Europe’s first Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) is ready for launch and will be shipped to Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, in mid-July for a launch campaign that will last several months.
The on-going qualification review, launcher availability (a specially built Ariane 5 version) and 'heavy traffic' at the International Space Station towards the end of the year, lead to a revised launch window that sees now a possibility for the Jules Verne ATV to lift-off not earlier than mid-January 2008.
Once in Kourou, the ATV will have to undergo integration and further tests – as is customary for all spacecraft before launch. Only upon completion of such tests and taking into account the schedule of the Ariane launches will it be possible to set a precise launch date....
The new Moon mission
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has announced the nickname for the lunar explorer SELENE, which was selected from submissions sent in by the general public: "KAGUYA." The name is taken, appropriately, from the name of a moon princess in a folktale.
http://www.space.com/imageoftheday/imag … 70607.html
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) plans to launch SELENE (SELenological and ENgineering Explorer) on-board a H-IIA Launch Vehicle from Tanegashima Space Center in 2007. The major objectives of the SELENE mission are to obtain scientific data of the lunar origin and evolution, and to develop the technology for future lunar exploration. SELENE consists of a main orbiting satellite located at about 100km altitude, and two small satellites (Relay Satellite and VRAD Satellite) in polar orbit. The orbiters will carry instruments for scientific investigation of the Moon, on the Moon, and from the Moon.
SPC Approves DPAC Proposal for Gaia Data Processing
http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object … ctid=41074
international doesn't automatically mean success, look at how slow the ISS has been coming along
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/sp … tree_N.htm
New research into the chemical composition of stars could identify our Sun's long lost family and begin to unravel the complex history of our galaxy.
Gayandhi De Silva and colleagues at the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT) used the instrument's Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle Spectrograph (UVES) to examine three open star clusters in our Milky Way galaxy.
Open clusters are loosely gravitationally bound groups containing up to a few thousand individual stars. These clusters formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud of gas and can have ages up to 10 billion years.
The identification of those other 4.6 billion year vintage stars may only be a matter of time.
"To do this sort of "chemical tagging" we need to have quality high resolution spectroscopic data.
The upcoming ESA's GAIA mission will surely give a boost to testing these techniques, plus future high efficiency spectrographs on Extremely Large telescopes will also provide much of the required data," De Silva said.
Rosetta Status Report May 2007
http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object … ctid=41030
President A P J Abdul Kalam has suggested that an industrial complex on the moon and human habitation on mars could become a reality within 50-75 years. Kalam said this while addressing scientists after dedicating the Insat-4B communication satellite to the nation from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) facility at Hassan, about 200 km from Bangalore.
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1102293
He said space missions beyond Earth were vital for sustaining the spirit of deep exploration. “Such missions enable us to bring minerals and other special materials from the moon, asteroids and mars.
They will also help build infrastructure for solar power generation, industrial complexes on moon and initiating human habitat on mars,” he said. This, the president added, could turn out to be true in 50-75 years.
Is there any more info on the type of landers to be included with MSO, or is this project just in it's study phase ?
Venus Express and MESSENGER to look at Venus in tandem
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMMC0ARR1F_index_0.html
4 June 2007
On 6 June this year, scientists all around the world will be watching with eager eyes as not one but two spacecraft observe Venus simultaneously.
ESA’s Venus Express, in orbit around Venus since 11 April 2006, will be joined for a few hours by NASA’s MESSENGER (MErcury Surface Space ENvironment GEochemistry and Ranging mission), flying by Venus while on its way to Mercury.
A lot of space groups have been looking into this stuff and NASA food nutritionists study this area with great hope. If people are to live in space for longer periods, self-sustaining food production will become be vital, its also not as easy as just growing something on Earth soil in a sealed enviornment quantities of other gases build up while on Earth you'd never think about, look how Biosphere II's failure shows these kinds of problems.
I think many of the Astronauts on a future Mars-bound spacecraft will also likely also grow at least some of their food, the Moon if it is to be a success should be also pushing to be self- sufficient but finding the right balanced mix of supplies and then of crops and understanding their effects on both crew and spacecraft are necessary concerns.