DailyTech - Japanese Space Agency Hopes for Manned Lunar Station in 2030

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Science Japanese Space Agency Hopes for Manned Lunar Station in 2030
Michael Hoffman (Blog) - August 3, 2006 4:07 PM

26 comment(s) - last by splines.. on Aug 6 at 11:59 PM

JAXA is the latest space agency wanting to send astronauts to the moon

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) hopes to construct a manned lunar base in 2030 but still has not been given the proper budget for the project. Some experts estimate that the project may cost up to $30 billion USD.

Junichiro Kawaguchi, head of Japan's lunar and planetary exploration program, hopes to also send Japanese astronauts to the moon by 2020. The astronauts would then start construction on the base which JAXA hopes will take under 10 years to construct. Satoki Kurokawa, JAXA spokesperson, believes the plan is realistic: "The feasibility of the plan is unclear at this point as we need to gain understanding by the government and the Japanese people on our plan, but technologically it would be possible in a few decades."

JAXA has ambitious plans for space exploration in the future: The organization first plans to launch a satellite next year, followed by three unmanned spacecrafts.

Several other space programs have high hopes of sending manned missions to the moon. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) hopes to send astronauts back to the moon by 2015, so that supplies can be left for a possible manned mission to Mars. The Swedish are also trying to colonize the moon with a self-sustaining lunar base that would have a symbiotic relationship with Earth. The Chinese space agency, which has had a number of successes lately, plans to have the nation's first moon walk by 2024.

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Can you hear them?

By Griswold on 8/3/06, Rating: 0

RE: Can you hear them?

By Pops on 8/3/2006 5:03:21 PM , Rating: 2

Everyone go and buy your land now before its all gone! Its like monopoly, just hope Japan's dice land them on your spot.

http://www.lunarregistry.com/?source=gmoon

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RE: Can you hear them?

By rrsurfer1 on 8/3/2006 5:07:55 PM , Rating: 2

Haha do a google search and there's a whole slew of sites selling the "properties" :)

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RE: Can you hear them?

By TomZ on 8/3/2006 6:13:45 PM , Rating: 2

LOL, I didn't know these sites existed. I guess there's an idiot born every minute.

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RE: Can you hear them?

By dgingeri on 8/3/2006 6:57:41 PM , Rating: 2

I think I'm going to try to one up them and sell realestate on Jupiter. those that think they can buy 'land' on a gas giant deserve to have all their money taken from them even more than the ones who think they can buy land on the moon before there is a government there.

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RE: Can you hear them?

By Griswold on 8/3/2006 5:30:16 PM , Rating: 2

Moderated away. I must have hit a nerve.. dont worry, everybody has wasted some money at some point. Some more foolish than others... lol.

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RE: Can you hear them?

By rrsurfer1 on 8/3/2006 7:14:01 PM , Rating: 2

Haha. That's really funny. I bet you did hit a nerve :)

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RE: Can you hear them?

By MercenaryForHire on 8/4/2006 11:58:16 AM , Rating: 1

DailyTech seems to have a distinct lack of apt moderation compared to /. - perhaps it's the indiscriminate gifting of moderation points, or the scads of 13-year-old gamers who flock here, but anything less subtle than a freight train in terms of humour gets modded down. Time for a more robust comment system to be implemented.

Now, if only there was a dedicated AT/DT codemonkey who cared about the comment system enough to lend a hand ... *wink wink, nudge nudge, elbow in the ribs*

- M4H

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RE: Can you hear them?

By PrinceGaz on 8/4/2006 3:01:28 PM , Rating: 2

I'd recommend they add an 'Edit' feature for posts first.

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They got 23 years...

By wingless on 8/4/2006 12:10:22 AM , Rating: 2

They have 23 years and are not currently engaged in a major war...so fuckit, Im sure they can do it. Ill be looking for that nice Honda/Toyota style Fit-and-Finish that the Japanese are so good at.

RE: They got 23 years...

By ronster on 8/4/2006 3:37:44 AM , Rating: 2

How many times have we heard 'manned based on the moon by xxxx' or 'manned mission to Mars by xxxx'? How long were they banging on about the ISS before it actually happened?

Basically i'll believe it when I see it. $30bn is an awful lot of money, especially for a prestige project with very little genuine benefit.

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RE: They got 23 years...

By RMTimeKill on 8/4/2006 10:29:15 AM , Rating: 2

very little genuine benefit?! more like endless benefits!! Just imagine actual R&D of real "spacecraft" since the moons gravity is so much less they would be able to launch and R&D them so much better/faster (though maybe not cheaper since you still have to ship all the parts up) and with that research comes much more effective moon based launchs to "infinity and beyond!" (sorry watched toy story with the kids last night). If by very little benefit, you mean direct benefit back to Earths developing country, then yes, I would agree, but the expansion possibilities are endless!! Should they make it to mars, and find its good for mining or some other resource, R&D of terraforming, all science fiction to use now, but all I can say is look back to the original "star trek" when holographic storage was "science fiction" and then look at todays DT blogs...

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RE: They got 23 years...

By Ringold on 8/4/2006 12:19:07 PM , Rating: 2

Dont forget economic benefits. Helium-3 seems to be a primary motivator for some Russians and the director of the Chinese program.. reasonable to suspect there's other goodies there too, but you can bet private industry will make government programs look like the sloths that they are.

Speakin' of Star Trek though, whatcha know? 'Warp Drive' and their impulse drives would be pretty simple, NASA thinks, once they figure out how to play with gravity and inertia. NASA thinks both of which are possible (in some distant future).. Teleporters? One atom at a time, sort of, not really but close enough! I think we'll have cruise ships going to Bernanrds Star long before we have teleporters for whole people, but some of the advances make communication like you see in Enders Game seem pretty feasible, and maybe very likely.

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RE: They got 23 years...

By MercenaryForHire on 8/4/2006 11:54:18 AM , Rating: 2

quote:
Ill be looking for that nice [b]Honda/Toyota[/b] style [b]Fit-and-Finish[/b] that the Japanese are so good at.

Odd, I've heard of the Honda Fit, but what's this Toyota Finish? Should I be cross-shopping this new subcompact vehicle?

:D

- M4H

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RE: They got 23 years...

By MercenaryForHire on 8/4/2006 11:59:38 AM , Rating: 1

Bah, freaking ['s. That's what I get for cross-surfing AT and DT.

- M4H

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hmmmm

By kattanna on 8/3/2006 4:24:27 PM , Rating: 2

unless they plan on using russian, american, or chinese launchers, as those are the only 3 countries currently who have or can launch people, they have a ways to go.

but..it is good to see all this interest in finally getting serious about space.

We have opened the door of our house and gone as far as the porch a few times with apollo, but it is far past time we got serious about exploring and getting to know our porch so we can then venture into our yards..and beyond.

All this standing around on the doorway, low earth orbit, is getting tiring..even though it is needed.

RE: hmmmm

By xbdestroya on 8/3/2006 4:29:41 PM , Rating: 2

...or, they could develop their own you know. ;)

I'm sure the US or Russia would be willing providers of technology that might prove prohibitive to research, though I can't imagine what technology that would be.

It just basically comes down to an issue of funding, rather than science.

And on the front, I doubt the Japanese will allocate the necessary funds.

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RE: hmmmm

By Kuroyama on 8/3/2006 9:31:13 PM , Rating: 2

Japan has 5 successful launches of their M-5 rocket, which can put a 1.8 ton satellite into 155 mile high orbit. I imagine this could be used for a short Chinese-level people launch. Japan is also currently developing a rocket based on liquified natural gas, which sounds intriguing.

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RE: hmmmm

By PrinceGaz on 8/4/2006 3:13:36 PM , Rating: 2

quote:
All this standing around on the doorway, low earth orbit, is getting tiring..even though it is needed.

The reason for manned missions staying in a low Earth orbit is that they are protected from potentially deadly radiation from solar-flares, as well as to avoid passing through the Van Allen radiation belts (which are passable fairly safely but best avoided). Solar-flares are the main reason that no manned mission has ever went above a low Earth orbit.

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It'll all be another elaborate hoax once again.

By vhx500 on 8/4/2006 11:21:14 AM , Rating: 2

Bah! They'll fake the moon landings (and the Mars landings) as well. With today's computer graphics, and carefully controlled media blackout, we'll be seeing the second most expensive movie ever made (the first Apollo moon landings cost $ 40 bn IIRC). The Iluminati is behind all of this! The New World Order is at hand! Repent!

RE: It'll all be another elaborate hoax once again.

By Master Kenobi

(blog) on 8/4/2006 11:32:20 AM , Rating: 2

I do hope your being sarcastic, otherwise you need a reality check.

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RE: It'll all be another elaborate hoax once again.

By vhx500 on 8/4/2006 11:37:57 AM , Rating: 2

Upon reading 'Iluminati', you should've guessed it already.

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RE: It'll all be another elaborate hoax once again.

By MercenaryForHire on 8/4/2006 12:02:47 PM , Rating: 1

http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=AA+batteries&b...

Seems you need a fresh stock for your Sarcasm Detector.

- M4H

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Japanese moon overlords

By drewsup on 8/4/2006 12:09:09 PM , Rating: 2

I, for one, welcome our new moon dwelling Japanese overlords.

RE: Japanese moon overlords

By splines on 8/6/2006 11:59:51 PM , Rating: 2

That is classic.

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Beware of the Mooninites!

By Kindjal on 8/4/2006 12:25:04 PM , Rating: 2

This is what the Japanese, Swedes, and Chinese can expect when they arive. Don't say we didn't warn you!

Ignignokt: We are the Mooninites and our culture has advanced beyond all that you can possibly comprehend with 100% of your brain.
Frylock: Oh is that so, and whats so advanced about it?
Ignignokt: Well for one thing, the moon has one-third less gravity than Earth, I don't know if you can understand that, but... our vertical leap is beyond all measurement.
Frylock: So what you're saying is...you're more advanced because you can jump higher?
Ignignokt: Yes. Observe. (Jumps a couple inches off the floor.)
Ignignokt: Its not working here! Err, get in here! Help me explain our advanced ways. Hurry!
Err: Did you mention the spelling?
Ignignokt: Yes, we're excellent spellers. Challenge me.
Err: Challenge us BOTH!