Nasa plans permanent base on Moon

WASHINGTON – Nasa may be going to the same old moon with a ship that looks a lot like a 1960s Apollo capsule, but the space agency said it is going to do something dramatically different this time: Stay there.

Unveiling the agency’s bold plan for a return to the moon, Nasa said Monday it will establish an international base camp on one of the moon’s poles, permanently staffing it by 2024, four years after astronauts land there. It is a sweeping departure from the Apollo moon missions of the 1960s and represents a new phase of space exploration after space shuttles are retired in 2010.Nasa chose a “lunar outpost” over the short expeditions of the ’60s.Apollo flights were all around the middle area of the moon, but Nasa decided to go to the moon’s poles because they are best for longer-term settlements.And this time Nasa is welcoming other nations on its journey.The more likely of the two lunar destinations is the moon’s south pole because it’s sunlit for three-quarters of the time.That offers a better locale for solar power, plus the site has possible resources to mine nearby, said associate deputy administrator Doug Cooke.”This is not your father’s Apollo,” said John Logsdon, director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University.”I think it’s the only way to sustain something like this over decades.This is not a flag-and-footprints.This is the idea of starting an outward movement that includes long stays on the moon.”To get to the moon, Nasa will use two vehicles – the Orion exploration vehicle and an attached all-purpose lunar lander that could touch down anywhere and be the beginnings a base camp, said exploration chief Scott Horowitz.He likens the lander to a pickup truck.Nampa-APIt is a sweeping departure from the Apollo moon missions of the 1960s and represents a new phase of space exploration after space shuttles are retired in 2010.Nasa chose a “lunar outpost” over the short expeditions of the ’60s.Apollo flights were all around the middle area of the moon, but Nasa decided to go to the moon’s poles because they are best for longer-term settlements.And this time Nasa is welcoming other nations on its journey.The more likely of the two lunar destinations is the moon’s south pole because it’s sunlit for three-quarters of the time.That offers a better locale for solar power, plus the site has possible resources to mine nearby, said associate deputy administrator Doug Cooke.”This is not your father’s Apollo,” said John Logsdon, director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University.”I think it’s the only way to sustain something like this over decades.This is not a flag-and-footprints.This is the idea of starting an outward movement that includes long stays on the moon.”To get to the moon, Nasa will use two vehicles – the Orion exploration vehicle and an attached all-purpose lunar lander that could touch down anywhere and be the beginnings a base camp, said exploration chief Scott Horowitz.He likens the lander to a pickup truck.Nampa-AP