Humans may be able to live on moon in next decade

Washington, July 22: According to a SA-funded study, humans may be able to live on the moon in a little more than a decade from now. The study outlines a plan to again take human missions to the moon, media reported. The announcement was made on July 20 — the 46th anniversary of the Apollo 11 crew’s first steps on the lur surface — The Verge (an American news and technology media network) reported. The, study, undertaken by NexGen Space LLC, lays out a detailed roadmap for when and how to take the next step for a landing. A robotic return to the moon could happen as soon as 2017, if SA were to adopt the plan right away. Rovers would scout the lur poles for hydrogen in 2018 and prospecting could begin by 2019 or 2020. Robotic construction of a permanent base would begin in 2021 in anticipation of landing humans on the moon later that year, it said. The study said the space agency can do it all within the existing budget for human spaceflights. The way for SA to do this is to adopt the same method that it is using for re-supplying the Intertiol Space Station - a public-private partnership with companies like SpaceX, Orbital ATK or the United Launch Alliance. SpaceX currently charges SA about $4,750 for every kilogram of supplies sent to orbit aboard its Falcon 9 rocket, far less than the cost by the Apollo-era Saturn V ($46,000 per kilogram) or even the space shuttle ($60,000 per kilogram). While the study does use SpaceX’s next generation rocket, the Falcon Heavy, as an example in its plans to get to the moon, SpaceX claims the Falcon Heavy will be as cheap or cheaper per kilogram than the Falcon 9.   (IANS)