Dear Astronomer has Carnival of Space 234
Vintage Space has a take on Newt Gingrich’s plan to have an American lunar base up and running by the end of his second term in 2020. Vintage Space thinks a Moon base is a horrible idea, and suggest we shouldn’t take his plans of lunar domination too seriously. Vintage Space does not want to lose the Space Science and other projects that NASA works on for any ambitious project that would take over NASA’s budget.
Readers of Nextbigfuture know that I disagree with Vintage Space and believe an affordable moon base can be established. I also believe that the primary focus of NASA and any space policy is to lower the cost of getting to space and ultimately enable true industry in space. True industry means building up power generation to many megawatts and gigawatts. Everything are extras that will be more affordable once the primary goals are met. The historical model that should be examined are the establishment of affordable commercial aviation and the building of a national highway system and the building of national power grids. Space science will be great when we have affordable access and infrastructure in space. Right now every mission costs hundreds of millions to billions. Get that science horse behind the cart of affordable and robust space infrastructure. Once missions cost a few million or less we will have hundreds of times more science too, along with space tourism, a bigger satellite service market, space entertainment linked to terrestrial movie, video games and theme parks and colonization. Colonization is the ultimate goal and purpose.
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Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.
A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.