posted April 11, 2007 05:10 PM            

Russia eyes industrial development of moon

Expert believes Soyuz rockets able to reach Earth's closest neighbor.

MOSCOW - Russia is working on a space transport system that could eventually lead to the industrialization of the moon, a space expert said.

Thirty-eight years after the United States put the first man on the moon, Russia could reach it using Soyuz rockets, the head of the Russian space company RKK Energia, Nikolai Sevastianov, told the Vedomosti daily.

"It is time to think about industrial development of the moon. We are sometimes criticized for making such suggestions too early," Sevastianov was quoted as saying in an interview released on Wednesday.

But it is time to do this given the limits to natural reserves on Earth and the pace of civilization's progress. Nor can we dismiss the idea of outsourcing harmful industries into space."

Sevastianov said Energia was working on a new space transport system called Kliper/Parom.

"We can start flying to the moon using the Soyuz ships and those technologies that we already have. As for industrial development, that will be with the new technologies that the Kliper system will give us."

On Monday an executive from the Space Adventures travel agency, who in cooperation with Russia has arranged five tourist space flights, said a trip around the moon was within reach and the next step would be landing adventurers on the moon itself.

"I think it's important to send private people to the moon," Chris Faranetta, the vice president of orbital spaceflight at the agency, told Reuters at Russian mission control near Moscow.

One of his Soyuz rocket trips delivered U.S. space tourist Charles Simonyi to the International Space Station on Monday.

posted May 05, 2007 06:17 PM              

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However, its the soverignty mongering that bothers me.

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i agree, not to offend anyone who's russian, but i think its kind of monstrous of them to go out of earth's boundaries, well they are the largest country in the world, but i hope thats not the excuse!

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Virgo Rising 8'57, Sagittarius Sun/4thH 3'26, Pisces Moon/6thH 8'22

"Our passions are not too strong, they are too weak. We are far too easily pleased." - C.S. Lewis

posted May 08, 2007 01:51 PM              

Property Rights on the Moon
David Adam
Monday October 24, 2005
The Guardian

The commute is a drag but there's plenty of outside space and, boy, wait until you see the views. As an out-of-this-world location, location, location, a house on the moon has plenty to offer. And it may not be as far-fetched as you think. Experts have said for years that the technology exists to construct a moon base, just not the will (or the cash). The latter remains a hitch, but with President Bush decreeing that Nasa astronauts will once again walk on the lunar surface, and a possible mission to Mars to follow, the clamour to build a permanent residence there will grow. Nasa has even turned its Hubble space telescope to the task of finding a suitable site.

One small step for a man, perhaps, and one giant leap for a lawyer. Property rights on the mineral-rich moon - or for that matter Mars, Pluto or Alpha Centauri - remain something of a murky issue. So much so that the US National Academies of Science will hold a special meeting on Wednesday to clarify the issue. Space Settlement: Homesteading on the Moon will discuss the policy implications of a lunar colony and whether privately funded missions should be allowed to play a role.
Behind the (fake) lunar title deeds for sale over the internet, there is a serious issue. The wonderfully named United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, which governs, well, outer space, is clear. Its 1967 Outer Space Treaty says no nation can claim ownership of any celestial body (including the moon) and that all nations must agree to their peaceful use. The UN says that private expeditions count as national activities and are covered by the treaty, which has been signed by all the major players. Lawyers disagreed and a second agreement - the 1979 International Moon Treaty - was drawn up to explicitly ban private ownership of lunar real estate. It received much less support and, to date, only France, India and the less than dominant space nations Guatemala, Peru and Romania have bothered to sign.

Klaus Heiss, director of the Washington space advocacy group High Frontier, who is speaking on Wednesday, says this means that those able to afford it can build and own their own des res on the moon. "The UN is just playing King George at the time of the American revolution thinking they can tell everyone else what to do. They can't," he says.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/ideas/story/0,16345,1599197,00.html

United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) is responsible for promoting international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space. The Office serves as the secretariat for the General Assembly's only committee dealing exclusively with international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space: the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS). The Committee has two subcommittees: the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee and the Legal Subcommittee.

The United Nations Programme on Space Applications (PSA) is implemented by UNOOSA and works to improve the use of space science and technology for the economic and social development of all nations, in particular developing countries. Under the Programme, the Office conducts training courses, workshops, seminars and other activities on applications and capacity building in subjects such as remote sensing, communications, satellite meteorology, search and rescue, basic space science, satellite navigation, and space law.

On behalf of the Secretary-General, UNOOSA maintains the Register of Objects Launched into Outer Space and disseminates information contained therein. An index of all functional space objects launched into outer space, including information contained in the Register, is available online.

UNOOSA prepares and distributes reports, studies and publications on various fields of space science and technology applications and international space law. Click here for an index of documents published by UNOOSA.

The Office provided substantive secretariat services for the three United Nations Conferences on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE), which were held in 1968, 1982 and 1999. The Office now supports and participates in the implementation of the recommendations of UNISPACE III.

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs is located at the United Nations Office at Vienna, Austria.

http://www.oosa.unvienna.org/

posted May 12, 2007 02:28 PM              

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I noticed Neptune , much appreciation. LOL one word. I don't know. LOL as a Gemini I don't think one word could describe me...though my Scorpio moon hints that perhaps a psychological disctionary might provide SOME insight. Hehe

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You don't fool me for one second.

posted May 12, 2007 03:10 PM              

who really thinks we can build housing on the Moon, that could sustain life?

this is too funny, to me, spells big disaster...ruining more of Our Universe...

Earth was made for Us, and the planets help Us..

We need to Fix Earth, plain and simple!

posted May 12, 2007 09:17 PM            

YOu really think we can survive without leaving this planet? Look what has happened to almost EVERY other species historically. I for one would rather have the species continue and to trash the unvierse than to go the way of the dinos.

posted May 12, 2007 10:32 PM              

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Whether it be Russia or Zanzibar, I don't want anyone polluting my ruling planet!

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posted May 12, 2007 10:50 PM              

Air, Water, Earth, Fire is needed. ...

posted May 12, 2007 11:37 PM              

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If you are truly passionate about this issue I encourage you to take action by donating, recycling, or organizing protests to help preserve our planet!

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lol....i have done as much....and the treatment i received for my efforts was unbelievably harsh.

i had a job at an environmental hotel for precisely this reason. i thought it would be an ideal place to both further my interests and learn more about them. they paid very little, and none of the other employees cared in the least about environmental concerns. i think it was an ideal of the owners, but they seemed not to care very much either. they hated me, lol, which was always so confusing to me, and i still don't understand it, or why i was subject to such ill treatment. i was the most devoted person there to these things, environmental and sustainable living, and the resentment toward me was extreme. i recycled EVERYTHING, both at home and at work, and watched other employees deliberately throwing their trash in the recycle containers for spite. and they received bonuses, raises and overtime pay that i did not.

they made everything very difficult for me...they sabotaged my work, changing the dates in my calendar for guests, so that guests were doublebooked and infuriated, and i was blamed. this was deliberate. one manager would tell me to do one thing while the another would tell me to do the exact opposite. this naturally got me in all kinds of trouble, and i know this was deliberate as well. i finally left, after staying much too long, thinking that eventually it would become a decent job, but it just got worse, seemingly, the harder i tried. and they refused to pay me for an entire month that i had worked overtime, with no overtime pay, to do the general manager's job while she vacationed in Italy for the month, in addition to my own full time work. it was one of the most rotten experiences i've ever had.

the funny thing is that this hotel is where i met my now ex-husband. he worked the night shift, sleeping through his shift, never answering the phone, never letting guests into the hotel after hours, which was his job, etc. and they loved him lol. for christmas the manager gave him a blanket. i bent over backward for them and they treated me like i was a disgusting piece of dog poopoo. which is so ironic, as i could have easily taken a much more lucrative job. they did give me a very limited meal pass for their macrobiotic restaurant, and often when i would eat there, they would throw my plate down on the table with a hostile glare. honestly, i only tried to help, and i still don't understand the reason for such hostility. my ex-husband hated the restaurant and the food, made fun of the owner (his employer) and was very vocal about it, and they treated him like royalty. i still don't get it.

my ex-husband HATES environmental things and i will state that to this day, i am extremely traumatized about recycling anything. i can't say more, because he reads this forum and makes clear that he watches everything i say here. but suffice it to say that since my experience at that hotel and my subsequent marriage, i am simply happy to be alive and exist. i will be happy to recycle and be involved in these pursuits once my life re-stabilizes. til then, i still care, i still include such ideals in my life to the extent that i can, try to keep current with such things, and share my ideas here, which i hope does have some positive impact. (see my thread in Gaia's garden about sustainable living ~ http://www.linda-goodman.com/ubb/Forum9/HTML/000722.html).

i'm sure you didn't expect such a wordy reply, but since you mentioned it...

posted May 13, 2007 12:17 AM              

i shopped exclusively at local food co-ops and natural markets, purchased only organic produce and organic packaged food as well. and was a complete vegan. all my cleaning products were all-natural, non-toxic and home-made. laundry i washed with a laundry disc and all-natural soap. i line dried my clothes to save energy. i dry-cleaned my clothing at a drycleaners that used an entirely natural environmental cleaning process, not toxic solvents. i wore all-natural fiber clothing, organic hemp and cotton, and used all-natural personal products and make-up, with no petroleum ingredients. it was very difficult to afford these things, but i made them a priroity. and i lived very sparely and frugally. my apartment was one tiny room with a kitchenette. the management bought professional clothing for all the personnel in the hotel -- except me, lol. then they had the audacity to tell me that i should shop for clothes and makeup at Walmart and the mall, as did some of the other employees there.

i made a huge effort, in every single part of my life to live this sustainable kind of life...for a number of years, and almost every effort i made i usually had kicked back in my face.

i am actually grateful for the opportunity to relate all this here. it still makes my heart quite sad, the way it all transpired, and i still love the idea of the efforts i made in pursuit of embodying a sustainable lifestyle. i still get severe criticism for purchasing organic food lol. i'm sure the universe has a purpose in all this though, and i do try to understand this.

posted May 13, 2007 12:52 AM            

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YOu really think we can survive without leaving this planet? Look what has happened to almost EVERY other species historically. I for one would rather have the species continue and to trash the unvierse than to go the way of the dinos.

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So just because this planet is going down the tubes that gives us permission to trash other ones? Because that's where I see this whole new colonies-on-the-moon-thing going.....