NASA's chief on Tuesday said the US space agency will invest $20 billion to develop a base on the moon, while suspending its plans to create the lunar orbital space station known as Gateway.
The best place in the universe for radio astronomy is on the surface of the far side of the moon. It’s the only spot that’s 100% guaranteed to never get directly hit by terrestrial radio.
Optical telescopes… probably one of the Lagrange points. But on a space station is ok too. Just too easy for the station to cause vibrations and out-gassing to interfere.
I’m not sure about using it for interplanetary gateway. It feels like it’s not the best place, but I’m just some knucklehead that’s played too much kerbal. I think having an earth orbit refueling station, or a lunar surface refueling station would be more useful.
That being said, I wouldn’t complain if they did any of those with the gateway. Just feels like micro-gravity and radiation research are the only real things that can only be done on a station to this uneducated citizen.
The best place in the universe for radio astronomy is on the surface of the far side of the moon. It’s the only spot that’s 100% guaranteed to never get directly hit by terrestrial radio.
Optical telescopes… probably one of the Lagrange points. But on a space station is ok too. Just too easy for the station to cause vibrations and out-gassing to interfere.
I’m not sure about using it for interplanetary gateway. It feels like it’s not the best place, but I’m just some knucklehead that’s played too much kerbal. I think having an earth orbit refueling station, or a lunar surface refueling station would be more useful.
That being said, I wouldn’t complain if they did any of those with the gateway. Just feels like micro-gravity and radiation research are the only real things that can only be done on a station to this uneducated citizen.