International Effort Could Put First Canadian On the Moon

A long-term plan created by 14 cooperating space agencies around the world could mean that a Canadian astronaut may get to visit the moon sometime close to 2030. The International Space Exploration Coordination Group, of which Canada is a part, released last week an updated roadmap laying out intended projects, including a lunar visit. "[CSA space exploration director Jean-Claude Piedboeuf] suggested astronauts could again be moon-bound in about 15 years. It would be the first human visit to the shining orb since 1972, when NASA astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmidt spent 75 hours there. This time, there could well be Canadian visitors. Their specialty: robotics. 'We're proposing a vision where Canada could have an astronaut, effectively a Canadian who will be in lunar space, either in orbit or on the moon and could operate a Canadian rover in the same way that Canadians operate a Canadarm on the space station,' Piedboeuf said."

15 years?

[rubycodez]

from Kennedy's challenge to first man on the moon was 8 years. just from that, I'd say this is mostly not planning to go anywhere in the next 20 years.

Re:Not only first Canadian. First human on the moo

[jfdavis668]

Best argument that the Moon landings were real. Nixon couldn't cover up Watergate, how was he to get every nation on Earth to help cover up fake Moon landings? Don't you think a Bradley Manning or Edward Snowden type would have let the cat out of the bag? Don't you think the Soviet Union would have blown the cover? Get real.

Re:The really sad thing...

[tompaulco]

Even more sad is that someone your age can't let go of the symbolism of a dead era.

I wasn't born in that era, but I understand the sentiment completely. During the late 50's through the mid-70's, we experience the pinnacle of technology and humankind has been going down hill since. We had rockets that went to the moon. We had supersonic transport. We built the fastest airplane ever, we built several different airplane models that are still in production and have yet to be surpassed. We invented what eventually became the internet. Since then, we haven't done much of anything except squabble and fight and sue. One might also notice a correlation in the diminishing of funding for education and research to our newfound stunning lack of achievement.

Re:The really sad thing...

[Type44Q]

Since then, we haven't done much of anything except squabble and fight and sue. One might also notice a correlation in the diminishing of funding for education and research to our newfound stunning lack of achievement.

Yeah but the ultra-wealthy can enjoy thousand-horsepower all-wheel-drive supercars and cheap replacement organs from healthy, grass-fed South American kids...

Re:15 years?

[Noughmad]

One would think there is even more groundwork done now than there was in the 60s. The main difference is that between a president making a commitment and a committee making a presentation.

Re:15 years?

[rubycodez]

wrong! even if we take the entire Apollo program which had other purposes before Kennedy's challenge, that was $25.4 billion as reported in 1973. That's 102.3 billion dollars now. Or the cost of the U.S. nuclear arsenal which is two thirds of a trillion dollars every decade. A fraction of cost of a war with no purpose and no results (other than a few hundred thousand dead Iraqi citizens), for example. Space exploration is very cheap.