Here's an RV that's probably out of anyone's price range: NASA's new Lunar Electric Rover (LER), that's somewhat akin to a motorhome--crossed with a travel trailer. Designed to comfortably accommodate two astronauts (four in an emergency) the new 'Lunar RV' has beds for two, bathroom facilities, and (an option that Winnebago will probably never introduce) heavy shielding to protect against solar storms.
While the fancy RV can motor around on the surface of the moon, it can also be left sitting, while the motive power unit can trundle lunar explorers around, and provide a truck like vehicle for bringing back special finds. Maybe the terrestrial RV builders will take a hint from the NASA design team: This lunar vehicle has a special chassis/wheel design combination, allowing it to make 360 degree turns and drive any direction. Just the thing for boondockers who find themselves down a blind road with no space to turn around!photos: Both NASA, bottom courtesy Smithsonian.com
9 comments:
Excellent Post. Link? I want to build a copy and I need blueprints, hmm'kay?
If they done away with NASA, the TAX payers would rejoice forever.
A over taxed tax payer.
Errol
Well, I pay a bunch of taxes and I am happy some of it goes for space exploration. My one regret in life is that I will not be alive when we put a "man" on Mars.
The cheap shot comment by "skip" (Errol) is indicative of an ignorant general public who doesn't want to be bothered with the facts; Out of the (average) $4,000-$8,000 that us "over taxed" tax payers shell out every April 15, between $60-$100 is earmarked for NASA -- for the entire year.
That works out to considerably less than what an RVer would spend on just getting to their favorite weekend destination in fuel alone.
Let's put it another way -- although I seriously doubt "skip" (Errol) is willing to understand, let alone accept as fact: NASA's *TOTAL* budget outlays, since it's creation in 1958 (fifty-one years ago) is LESS than ONE year's budget for the Department of Defense at $638.7 billion -- which includes a separate $205.5 billion budget for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan between now and the fall of 2010 -- or the so-called "social programs" managed by the Department or Health and Human Services at $821.7 billion ($78.7 billion for discretionary spending, plus $453 billion for Medicare and $290 billion for Medicaid).
Real RVers know that America is, and has always been a frontier nation. Two hundred years ago, the frontier was whatever Lewis & Clark would see the next day. One hundred years ago, it was in Alaska, labeled as "Seward's Folly" when it was purchased in 1867.
Today, the human frontier is space, with the Apollo missions to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s, the development of the International Space Station today, or future missions to build an outpost on the moon or a manned mission to Mars, the asteroids and beyond.
Our great-great-grandparents accepted the challenge of their frontier. Will today's generation do less? And if so, why? Just so they can save 18 cents per day? To save one-half of one percent (0.53%) of the federal budget? Because $60 a year is too much of a cost to the average "over taxed" citizen for our nation's space program?
Whether you wish to explore space or not, to say that we cannot afford space exploration (or wasting taxpayers money on the venture) is ridiculous.
If "skip" doesn't want to contribute then I'll be glad to chip in his extra $60 on my taxes if I knew it was earmarked for NASA. You will see my inspection stamp (E88) on the Lunar Landing Radar sitting on the moon till the sun goes nova!!!
"0 defects" was our motto, wish RV manufacturers had the same spirit!!
I have two scientist-inventor friends who work for NASA in Mountain View and I am happy to report that these guys are engaged in very creative and cutting edge science that will be useful for all of us here on Earth as well as for space research.
If more of our tax dollars went to creative endeavors rather than destructive ones, the world would be a better place for it (my two cents).
Two points: 1. The spin-off from the NASA programs has led to development of many things we use today. Some examples: Tang, dehydrated foods, LEDs, lighter weight batteries, computers (microchips were developed to aid in the space program), new composite materials, etc.
2. DoD is necessary to protect us from other cultures which wish to harm us or our way of living. If we didn't have a military, we would now be speaking another language and be serfs. Freedom is only kept if we have a strong offensive and defensive capability.
Having a strong military defense defense is a wise choice and I support it. A strong offense is a completely different matter. For example, Germany had a strong offense in world war two and well, it was offensive indeed. When others continually find your actions offensive, you end up fighting a lot more wars than you should be fighting.
Well Skip if you want to take NASA out...you'r not that informed!! Anything with Titanium like HIPS,Glasses that bend all over and lets not forget the camera systems they give us. I think we should get rid of the Dept. of Education!! Let the states take carre of that and give that $$ to NASA. They have given the world so much for and do it for sooo little!!
Post a Comment