NASA Has New Moon Plans for mid-2020s and Will Fund Human-Rated Large Moon Landers

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NASA is planning for the launch of the first Human [Lunar] Lander demonstration mission in 2024. The minimum objective of this mission is to demonstrate a lunar surface landing from the Gateway with a Descent Element capable of supporting a future human lander that includes both a Descent Element and an Ascent Element.

There is still the billions in waste for the Lunar Gateway. However, SpaceX and others can bid to create a large lunar lander and rovers.

The Lunar Gateway would be a Mir sized space station in orbit around the moon. If there is a requirement to go to the Gateway before going to the moon then it would add a 30% cargo penalty to sending missions to the surface of the moon.

It would take four launches of the unbuilt Space Launch System or the unbuilt SpaceX Super Heavy Starship to build the Lunar Gateway. It could also be built with 20 Falcon 9 launches or the equivalent of twenty space shuttle launches.

The opportunity cost of the Lunar Gateway is twenty different interplanetary missions.

NASA and space business-as-usual will waste $100+ billion on the Lunar Gateway and Space Launch System. However, it is possible that SpaceX could win the lunar lander contract and displace Space Launch System with the SpaceX Super Heavy Starship. This would enable more to be done in space and on the moon with less wasted money.

Government will waste money but we can hope to have less waste and more results.

NASA plans to launch the second demonstration mission in 2026. The objectives of this mission are to
demonstrate:
• Docking or berthing of the Ascent Element to the Gateway to support transfer of crew from Orion in a future mission
• Aggregation of Descent, Ascent, and Transfer Vehicle Elements at Gateway
• Transfer of the aggregated Elements to Low Lunar Orbit (LLO)
• Lunar surface landing of the aggregated Descent and Ascent Elements
• Return of the Ascent Element to Gateway, including docking or berthing
• Return of the Transfer Vehicle to Gateway

NASA plans to launch the third demonstration mission in 2028. The objectives of this mission include those of the 2026 mission, as well as demonstrating:
• Refueling and Reusability of the 2026 Transfer Vehicle and Ascent Elements
• Transfer of Crew to and from the Ascent Element at Gateway
• Lunar surface extra-vehicular activity (EVA)

SOURCES- FBO, NASA

Written By Brian Wang.

10 thoughts on “NASA Has New Moon Plans for mid-2020s and Will Fund Human-Rated Large Moon Landers”

  3. Like the cat lady thing, Toxoplasmosis doesn’t have to be smart, it’s found a way to subvert animal brains to its own ends.

  6. I’m impressed that the Toxoplasmosis was sophisticated enough to target a threatening webpage.

    I assume no human would delete such a resource of their own free will.

  7. I am not saying every association on that page is a cause-effect thing, some are known to be, some are but the proof is still coming, and some are coincidence.

    Here is something on how some viruses effect the brain: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2782954/

    Hmm. the link at the bottom of my first comment apparently does not work. Maybe you have to put it directly in the wayback machine: https://archive.org/web/

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_human_diseases_associated_with_infectious_pathogens

  9. I think amyloid is a response to infections that get to the brain. And I think the older you are the more likely something will get in there. I think leaky gut allows E. coli to get in there. Lots of stuff can get in the brain and stay. There are viruses (any of the 9 human herpes viruses), gingivitis, Toxoplasmosis (a protozoan that can cause birth defects and is implicated in increased auto accidents and cat lady syndrome), P. acnes (causes zits and lower back pain), etc.

    The Herpes connection has been known for years…and the evidence just gets stronger and stronger.

    I think there are microbe instigators for many of our chronic diseases. There is decent evidence that type 2 Diabetes is caused by a reaction we have to a toxin from Staph: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150601172848.htm

    The obesity epidemic was likely caused by 3 versions of Adenovirus. These make animals fat when they are infected and they are found in the fat and even some of the chemical pathways are known. Adenoviruses 5, 36, and 37 are likely the one responsible. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4517116/

    It is probably a mechanism to make the animals slow and easily eaten and thus the disease spreads to the predator. But that is just my speculation.

    There used to be a Wikipedia page that collect the associations but some clown removed it: https://web.archive.org/web/20141124121540/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_human_diseases_associated_with_infectious_path

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