Japan Plans to put Robot Moon Base on Moon by 2020

[English Mobster]

Of course the Japanese would want to put robots up there.
http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-05/japan-wants-moon-base-2020-built-robots-robots

America may have eighty-sixed its moon base ambitions, but the Japanese have no plans to let perfectly good lunar real estate go to waste. An ambitious $2.2 billion project in the works at JAXA, the Japanese space agency, plans to put humanoid robots on the moon by 2015, and now official backing from the Prime Minister's office says the Japanese could have an unmanned lunar base (http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20006075-1.html?tag=reddit2) up and running by 2020.

[ICEE]

super happy fun time moon base.

[Hotrod]

Well, at least one country hasn't lost their marbles...

[CN3089]

Well, at least one country hasn't lost their marbles...

Yes, building robotic bases on the moon is a sign of sanity.

[sleepy1212]

super happy fun time moon base.

If it doesn't dispense used panties i'm not interested.


Japan's Kaguya lunar probe has sent back stunning high-def images of the moon in recent years, including a panorama of the Earth rising from lunar orbit. Such postcards will look so much cooler if they include a few little bots waving to us Earthlings.

I wonder if they plan to build life-supporting facilities with the robots, maybe after they're done surveying?

[Cojafoji]

they better not shape it in the form of hello kitty. fucking japanese. so god damned weird.

also, awesome.


edit: you know at this point, I don't care who's making the investments in space right now. as long as it's getting done. better to look at it from a stance of: what's humanity doing in space?

[Hotrod]

Yes, building robotic bases on the moon is a sign of sanity.
Well, it's better than canceling any plans to send man on the moon.

[CN3089]

Well, it's better than canceling any plans to send man on the moon.

No, it isn't?

[Hotrod]

No, it isn't?
That's my opinion?

[ICEE]

That's my opinion?

Kyon is a troll and his posts should be ignored?

[Hotrod]

Kyon is a troll and his posts should be ignored?
You make a good point?

Anyway, I'm quite interested in seeing how this whole thing will turn out. Maybe they'll use the robots to build a habitat usable by people.

[Dwood]

Or if they even will at all. Robots up there to intercept human ships and send them on their way to mars maybe, instead?

[Kornman00]

Is there some kind of treaty in place which doesn't give any one nation control over off-world land? That's the only issue I can see coming from this, Japan and <USA, Russia, etc> getting into border arguments. Unless they keep politics and nation flag planting out of the future fucking space exploration.

[CN3089]

Is there some kind of treaty in place which doesn't give any one nation control over off-world land?

Yes. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Space_Treaty)

[Mass]

Well, it's better than canceling any plans to send man on the moon.

No, it's better than a plan to do that. I don't know if you realize that all a man or woman in a space suit can do is see and feel gravity, which are both more accurately done by robots, but robots just make more sense for any activities in uninhabitable space. A man's need to consume and the impact that being in space will have on him will mean that he minimizes the scope of exploration while maximizing the cost. Even gardening and other moon experiments would be more easily handled by robots.

Probing and space telescopes represent what our current aims should be. Need to figure out something worthwhile for a man to do before we send him up there.

[Hotrod]

No, it's better than a plan to do that. I don't know if you realize that all a man or woman in a space suit can do is see and feel gravity, which are both more accurately done by robots, but robots just make more sense for any activities in uninhabitable space. A man's need to consume and the impact that being in space will have on him will mean that he minimizes the scope of exploration while maximizing the cost. Even gardening and other moon experiments would be more easily handled by robots.

Probing and space telescopes represent what our current aims should be. Need to figure out something worthwhile for a man to do before we send him up there.
You do have a point there, and I agree with you. However, the point I was trying to make is that it's better to do something, anything, rather than cancel the one project that a country has. I mean like it or not, man is going to return to the moon someday. Why not do it sooner rather than later?