Is a staging point on the moon better than a staging point in earth orbit?
Can you assemble a Mars craft on the moon (gravity, dust) any better than you can in orbit? You can't get anything there - everything still has to be brought from earth. Seems like getting everything to the moon and supporting people there would eat up a lot of energy and resources.
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Originally Posted by Z-man
Taking that concept a step further - the moon could be used as a staging area for missions to Mars. It costs nothing to keep things like jet fuel cool there. (Maybe too cool?). Delevop a station there - and at 1/6tht the gravity, it would require less energy to get a spaceship off the surface and heading towards Mars.
So essentially, the moon would house the 'outer' space station. Astronauts would take a Space Shuttle to our space stations that are in lower orbit - then take another smaller vehicle to the moon, where their Mars explorer/space vehicle would launch them to Mars and beyond.
Yes, as a kid, I was mezmerized by the space program - I had a National Geographic poster of all the astronauts and their missions hanging in my room for years and years... Neil Armstrong was my hero!
-Z-man.
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