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The Raelian Movement
for those who are not afraid of the future : http://www.rael.org
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Nasa to put a robot on the moon 'in just 1,000 days'
By Daniel Bates
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1325931/Nasa-robot-moon-just-1-000-days.html
Last updated at 9:55 AM on 3rd November 2010
NASA has unveiled plans to put a robot on the moon for a fraction of the cost of sending a human.
Engineers claim that in just 1,000 days they can safely build and fire a humanoid-like machine into space and onto our nearest neighbour.
It would cost less than $200million (£124million), plus $250million (£156million) for the rocket, substantially less than the $150billion (£93billion) it would be to send an astronaut.
The engineers behind it also hope that the sight of a robot walking on the Moon would inspire a new generation of scientists, just as the Apollo landings did 40 years ago.
The space shuttle Discovery is lit by early morning sunlight on Pad 39A this morning
Project M has been considered a 'guerrilla effort' by NASA engineers due to the lack of official enthusiasm for returning to the Moon.
As a result they have had to use discretionary funds, barter with engineering companies, trade with specialists and persuade NASA units to co-operate.
In one case an engineer even went to a hardware store to buy $80 (£49) worth of materials to enable him to test the fuel tank on a prototype aircraft.
The driving force behind the project was Stephen J. Altemus, the chief engineer at the Johnson Space Centre in Houston.
Faced with shrinking budgets, he wanted something that could be achieved quickly without getting bogged down in red tape. When he shared his idea with colleagues it caught on like 'wildfire' and they have not looked back.
The team found that sending a robot to the Moon is far easier than sending a person - it does not need air or food and there is no return trip.
Robonaut 2 is set to head into space on board Discovery
The project has also been helped by building on existing technology and modifying it rather than starting afresh.
Robonaut 2, developed by NASA and General Motors, will be on board the shuttle Discovery, which is due to liftoff today.
That will be the first humanoid robot in space and will deal with the housekeeping chores so the astronauts can focus on their work.
A prototype landing aircraft was provided by Armadillo Aerospace, a tiny Texas engineering company, and it has already flown 18 times.
The only drawback seems to be that the robot's capabilities will be limited compared to what a human can do - even if the sight of it will be inspirational.
So far $9million has been spent on the programme, and NASA is watching closely to see how it pans out.
R. Matthew Ondler, Project M's manager, said that the thousand day deadline was chosen to add some pressure.
'It creates this sense of urgency,' he said. 'NASA is at its best when it has a short time to figure out things.
You give us six or seven years to think about something, and we're not so good. Administrations change and priorities of the country change, and so it's hard to sustain things for that long.'
Members of the media listen as R2 is introduced. It will be used for microgravity experiments in fluid physics, materials science, biology and biotechnology
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1325931/Nasa-robot-moon-just-1-000-days.html#ixzz14DbO8sJHWARNING FROM RAEL: For those who don't use their intelligence at its full
capacity, the label "selected by RAEL" on some articles does not mean that I
agree with their content or support it. "Selected by RAEL" means that I believe
it is important for the people of this planet to know about what people think or
do, even when what they think or do is completely stupid and against our
philosophy. When I selected articles in the past about stupid Christian
fundamentalists in America praying for rain, I am sure no Rael-Science reader
was stupid enough to believe that I was supporting praying to change the
weather. So, when I select articles which are in favor of drugs, anti-semitic,
anti-Jewish, racist, revisionist, or inciting hatred against any group or
religion, or any other stupid article, it does not mean that I support them. It
just means that it is important for all human beings to know about them. Common
sense, which is usually very good among our readers, is good enough to
understand that. When, like in the recent articles on drug decriminalization, it
is necessary to make it clearer, I add a comment, which in this case was very
clear: I support decriminalizing all drugs, as it is stupid to throw depressed
and sad people (as only depressed and sad people use drugs) in prison and ruin
their life with a criminal record. That does not mean that there is any change
to the Message which says clearly that we must not use any drug except for
medical purposes. The same applies to the freedom of expression which must be
absolute. That does not mean again of course that I agree with anti-Jews,
antisemites, racists of any kind or anti-Raelians. But by knowing your enemies
or the enemies of your values, you are better equipped to fight them. With love
and respect of course, and with the wonderful sentence of the French philosopher
Voltaire in mind: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death
your right to say it".
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"Ethics" is simply a last-gasp attempt by deist conservatives and
orthodox dogmatics to keep humanity in ignorance and obscurantism,
through the well tried fermentation of fear, the fear of science and
new technologies.
There is nothing glorious about what our ancestors call history,
it is simply a succession of mistakes, intolerances and violations.
On the contrary, let us embrace Science and the new technologies
unfettered, for it is these which will liberate mankind from the
myth of god, and free us from our age old fears, from disease,
death and the sweat of labour.
Rael
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