Moon First

NASA's Mike Griffin, speaking earlier this week in Scotland, told a gathering of the International Astronomical Union that returning to the Moon is essential before sending people to Mars, citing the complexity of a Mars mission and the capabilities that need to be developed before the attempt is made.

He noted the Apollo astronauts spent a total of 27 days exploring the Moon, which has a surface area equal ro Africa. There is much lunar exploration left to be done, he said. Griffin also argued that before we undertake a Mars mission, we should be confident we could send a crew for a 6- to 9-month stay on ISS, on to the Moon for a similar time, and back to ISS for another 6- to 9-month stay before returning home-- all without resupply. The point would be to simulate a Mars mission in relative safety. Clearly, even a consortium of spacedaring nations would be many years away from being able to carry out even that mission.

Meanwhile, in the wake of the successful Shenzhou 7 mission, a spokesman for the Chinese space program said China plans to send a man to the Moon in the near future. Some experts on China say a person in such an official capacity would not have made such a statement unless China had in fact decided on a lunar mission fairly soon.

Couple government efforts to reach the Moon with the plans of various private organizations, and the next two decades could see the early stage of humanity firmly establishing itself beyond Earth.