Will we ever get a historic space moment like the moon landing in our lifetime?

irishgeo

now that the return to the moon has been shelved, we will ever got such a historic moment where people walk on the moon or another planet.

Sure the ISS is a historic moment and the space shuttles but its not like the moon landings. the whole world stopped for that.

imagine what technology they would bring and the grainy video they shot back then would be eclipsed by HD camera's.I am 30 this year so i missed out on the moon landings.

i been listening to carl sagan, its 1972 since we last were on the moon and only American people have set foot on the moon.

i love space and would love to get a telescope/binos and point it at the sky, as i live in a light pollution free zone in achill island, but my knowledge is woeful on the subject.

so to pose my original question.

Will we ever get a historic space moment like the moon landing in our lifetime?

AlmightyCushion

I remember reading before that JAXA planning a mission to the moon using robots to build a lunar base (You gotta love the Japanese) and then having the base manned when built. I think they had planned to get started by 2020. The whole robots building a lunar base sounds fairly far-fetched but it's Japan so I wouldn't rule it out. Remember hearing India and China had planned moon missions as well, don't remember them going into too much detail though so probably not very likely.

Calibos

Well I plan to live to 100 so thats 2074. I have high hopes of witnessing a manned Mars mission although its lookin like I'll be an old fart by the time it happens. The astronauts for that Mission are probably in playschools and creches at the moment

AlmightyCushion

Calibos wrote: »

Well I plan to live to 100 so thats 2074. I have high hopes of witnessing a manned Mars mission although its lookin like I'll be an old fart by the time it happens. The astronauts for that Mission are probably in playschools and creches at the moment

Are you suggesting that mars is going to be some sort of pedo colony.

KoolKid

I havn't given up on first contact happening before I depart...

lord lucan

I don't expect to ever see a Mars landing in my lifetime(i'm 36 now). Best bet of a Moon landing is the Chinese or India,don't see the US or Russians going there in the foreseeable future. I say China & India as they're emerging nations in spaceflight and would look to(imo) lay down a marker to show their technical prowess by staging a spectacular event,ie. land on the Moon.

I'd love to see it,missed the Apollo missions so for my generation the Space Shuttle has been the symbol of Human Spaceflight. With modern technology it would be spectacular,realtime HD imagery as it happens.

irishgeo

KoolKid wrote: »

I havn't given up on first contact happening before I depart...

but do the aliens even know we exist, when did SETI start broadcasting "stuff" into space. with so many light years in space, the aliens wont have heard any of it yet or know what frequency to tune into, we could be pissing up their tv signals no end.

Voyager is going to be out best hope of someone coming across it, but if that crash lands into their planet they are going to pretty pissed.

what was written on the metal plate attached to voyager?

Cú Giobach

Taking the OP's question to mean say 50 years, just think about the changes between 1911 and 1961 to get an idea of what could happen.
With the speed of technological change constantly increasing I'd say we could see some pretty amazing stuff during the next 50 odd years. (If we make it passed 2012 ).

Kxiii

irishgeo wrote: »

but do the aliens even know we exist, when did SETI start broadcasting "stuff" into space. with so many light years in space, the aliens wont have heard any of it yet or know what frequency to tune into, we could be pissing up their tv signals no end.

Voyager is going to be out best hope of someone coming across it, but if that crash lands into their planet they are going to pretty pissed.

what was written on the metal plate attached to voyager?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wow!_signal
SETI did pick up this signal in 77 it was at 1420mhz the frequency that hydrogen vibrates so that might be a good place to start.

The use of ion engines might make a manned mission to mars a likelihood in our lifetime.

Rhys Essien

The Russians have said they will send a manned mission to Mars by 2037.Dont know how they came up with the year 2037.
The Chinese also said they hope to go mining on the moon for helium3 in the next 20 years.

lord lucan

This is the plate that is carried on Voyager.



IIRC SETI began in the 1960's. As was mentioned,technically intelligent life may now be receiving a signal sent from earth in the 1960's and it could take the same length in time for it to get back to us.

NoQuarter

I doubt ill be alive for first contact and id like to have 75 years left :pac:

But i expect the moment we find a hard evidenced, no doubt alternate earth, a planet undoubtedly similar to our own in size, distance from its star, size of the star etc etc... at that time ill truly be in awe that there is definitely a mirror planet out there and that will be a real slap in the face for everyone that life is a HUGE possibility!

Kxiii

Read somewhere recently of plans to send probes to Europa to look for signs of life in 2030. The fact it has a liquid water core the hopes are for multicelular life like what has been discovered by deep sea vents here.

That would be a fairly historic moment.

irishgeo

Kxiii wrote: »

Read somewhere recently of plans to send probes to Europa to look for signs of life in 2030. The fact it has a liquid water core the hopes are for multicelular life like what has been discovered by deep sea vents here.

That would be a fairly historic moment.

they are going to send it in 2030 but how long will it take to get there?

i have seen discovery channel docs on this prospect, no final dates though

Yakult

Mars? I would imagine that in the next 50 years mankind will will finally walk on Mars. (I would love to volunteer to anyway)
Would like to see something found on Europa in my life time. That place really peaks my interest!

slade_x

irishgeo wrote: »

the whole world stopped for that.

Because it was the first time we left our neighbourhood and set foot on a celestial body seemingly hanging in our night sky, for what our ancestors could have only imagined they were. It was monumental and that first is something we can do only once.

irishgeo wrote: »

Will we ever get a historic space moment like the moon landing in our lifetime?

The next big thing will be setting foot on another planet, as that is something that will require our presence and will have a profound meaning for us. As remarkable an achievement as any of the others from the ISS to robotic rovers and satellites exploring other planets, to telescopes and instruments probing our cosmos. The next big awe inspiring moment for the masses will be when for just the briefest of moments mankind will have reached out once again and actually set foot on a planet other than our own.

The day the first man or woman walks on another planet will definitely be a day i will want to be alive for.

Who knows what the next 50 years realistically holds for us. for almost the past half a century or so we have proven the sky isnt the limit, and most certainly not ours.

stoneill

I reckon LordLucan has it right with the China or India making the next mission to the Moon. My money is on China, they seem to have the burning patriotism that is needed to accomplish such a massive undertaking as well as they seem to have a point to prove to the west.
I would expect it to be a completely different approach than Apollo.
Perhaps an Earth Orbit rendezvous with multiple hardware being launched separately over successive launches, docking in Earth orbit before the burn to the Moon.

clln

stoneill wrote: »

I reckon LordLucan has it right with the China or India making the next mission to the Moon. My money is on China, they seem to have the burning patriotism that is needed to accomplish such a massive undertaking as well as they seem to have a point to prove to the west.
I would expect it to be a completely different approach than Apollo.
Perhaps an Earth Orbit rendezvous with multiple hardware being launched separately over successive launches, docking in Earth orbit before the burn to the Moon.

Well America's new space policy includes the wish to land on an asteroid,but not even the most basic work has started on it,i reckon that is at least 25 years away.
imagine the problems trying to land on one,they are such an irregular shape.
gravitational force's would vary by massive amounts,so a lander would have to be very diffrient to the lunar modules.
that is the most exciting thing on the US to do list.

agree China most likely to pull a spectaculor,below is what they have done so far.
in three manned launchs they have hit milestones it took many more flights by both sides in the space race.
after the mini space station they plan a much larger space station,but they are also using hardware that could lead to another lunar landing.
the hardware is also compatible with ISS hardware if they decide to partner up.
this is only what we know for sure they have achieved and what they plan.
who knows what secret plans they have,problem with them is how long term thinking they are they think in terms of decades not years.!
No hope of a Mars landing within 40 years IMO from anywhere.

Missions launched

• Shenzhou 1 – 19 November 1999 – unmanned test flight
• Shenzhou 2 – 9 January 2001 – carried animals
• Shenzhou 3 – 25 March 2002 – carried a test dummy
• Shenzhou 4 – 29 December 2002 – carried a test dummy and several science experiments
• Shenzhou 5 – 15 October 2003 – 14 Earth orbits carrying Yang Liwei
• Shenzhou 6 – 12 October 2005 – 5 day mission with Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng
• Shenzhou 7 – 25 September 2008 – three-man crew with Zhai Zhigang (who conducted China's first spacewalk), Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng Planned missions
• Shenzhou 8 – 2011(?) – unmanned mission, will rendezvous and dock with Tiangong 1.
• Shenzhou 9 – 2011(?) – manned mission, will dock with Tiangong 1 after Shenzhou 8.
• Shenzhou 10 – 2012(?) – manned, will dock with Tiangong 1 after Shenzhou 8 and Shenzhou 9 to form a space laboratory.

This is similar to the process used by the Soviet Union in their early Soyuz program which was intended to test procedures for future Lunar flights.

petergdub

Rather than man-on-the-moon type photo opportunities I'm more interested in breakthroughs in the enabling technologies that make those moments possible.
(e.g. the Integrated circuit in the case of the Apollo mission)

In terms of space exploration this is something I love keeping tabs on:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variable_Specific_Impulse_Magnetoplasma_Rocket

If combined with a nuclear reactor a Mars trip could happen in days instead of months.

Beeker

I sure hope to be around when we finally go back to the Moon. I also hope to see the first Human on Mars. Both of these seem to be far in the future at the moment due to cost:(As LL said China is probally the best bet at the moment for a return to the Moon in the next 10-20 years. However I believe the discovery of life past or present, on Mars {very likely in the next 5-10 years} would hopefull fuel the drive to send Humans on an international flight there.
The discovery of life in the universe is only around the corner I think, intelligent life may take a bit longer to find but fingers crossed.

So yes I do believe we will get to see an historic moment in our lifetimes:)

limklad

petergdub wrote: »

Rather than man-on-the-moon type photo opportunities I'm more interested in breakthroughs in the enabling technologies that make those moments possible.
(e.g. the Integrated circuit in the case of the Apollo mission)

In terms of space exploration this is something I love keeping tabs on:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variable_Specific_Impulse_Magnetoplasma_Rocket

If combined with a nuclear reactor a Mars trip could happen in days instead of months.

Looking at that technology, If they are going to be there in days, They will need to turn the space craft the opposite direction half way through the trip to begin de-accelerating so it can be captured by Mars to begin the orbit, otherwise it will over shoot Mars heading out towards the other solar system planets region provided it does not collide with the asteroid belt.

irishh_bob

Cú Giobach wrote: »

Taking the OP's question to mean say 50 years, just think about the changes between 1911 and 1961 to get an idea of what could happen.
With the speed of technological change constantly increasing I'd say we could see some pretty amazing stuff during the next 50 odd years. (If we make it passed 2012 ).

im serious when i say i think sci fi movies have created expectations which are too high when it comes to space , anytime you see a movie where humans have set up shop on faraway planets ( total recall , avatar , etc ) , its only around 100 years into the future , in reality , it would be closer to a thousand years before man was capable of managing such feats , such are the sheer distances involved

the universe is one big place

Cú Giobach

irishh_bob wrote: »

im serious when i say i think sci fi movies have created expectations which are too high when it comes to space , anytime you see a movie where humans have set up shop on faraway planets ( total recall , avatar , etc ) , its only around 100 years into the future , in reality , it would be closer to a thousand years before man was capable of managing such feats , such are the sheer distances involved

the universe is one big place

To quote one of my favorite authors
"You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space."

I certainly wasn't thinking about interstellar travel and am doubtful we will ever get that far. More along the lines of Mars, probes to the icy moons and finding life etc.

Beeker

Cú Giobach wrote: »

To quote one of my favorite authors
"You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space."

Ah Douglas Adams, what a genius:)

oneillMan999

defo see a Mars mission in our lifetime but only if its a wordwide venture, no ONE state or country can afford it, it wud have to be co-operation from all the big countries as well as contributions from most other countries.

Prob be more chance of a WW3, but thats a good possibility too!!