Two private companies intend to install a telescope on the moon. The idea is that anyone can access their images and, incidentally, do business.
Moon Express and the International Association of Lunar Observatory (ILOA) have announced their intention to install a telescope on the Moon for the purpose both scientists and commercial. His intention is to get the International Lunar Observatory (ILO) to the South Pole of the Moon in just three years. In addition, they intend to make the trip to exploring this area in search of mineral resources and water.
Best thing about this idea is that it would allow anyone to see the images collected by the telescope over the Internet; a kind of 'democratization' of science, according to its creators see it. The worst thing, apart from what supposed to put space exploration in the hands of private companies, which complicated is to carry out the project.
To begin with, it will not be cheap. According to estimates of Moon Express and ILOA, install a telescope on the moon would cost about $ 100 million, but they hope to get funding from agencies such as NASA. But that is not all. Maintenance and for the sending of information necessary satellites will not be cheap.
On the other hand, the installation itself will be a challenge. The idea is to perform tests in 2015 to see if the project is feasible and, if so put hands to work on 2016. Anyway, they are aware that this date is ambitious and not discarded to Finish in 2018, according to recognized Bob Richards, CEO of Moon Express, Wired.
ILOA and Moon Express believe that they could sell mineral in the TierraLa election the South Pole of the Moon it is no coincidence. At the edge of 5 km of height of the crater Malapert may be the center of the milky way with unprecedented precision, because the atmosphere would not affect the display. In addition, in this location temperatures are somewhat softer, so the telescope would bear better, and communication with the Earth would be easier. From the commercial point of view, they believe that it is an area that could be rich in minerals which could be sold. Even in the future could be a site in which astronauts could get water.
And what about the telescope? ILO has an antenna for 2 meters, but at the moment is known more information of its predecessor, ILO-X, which was introduced in May this year. It has a 180 x 70 mm optics and an opening of approximately 130 mm. The size of a shoe box and a 2 kg weight, will get images of 3032 x 2016 pixels of resolution. Both telescopes are controlled from the Internet.
The price, in principle, seems more easily salvageable barrier. $ 100 million are lot of money for a company like Moon Express, but practically Pocket Change for companies of the size of Google. And the search engine is not far away from this mission, offering 30 million reward who managed to put a robot on the Moon that can travel 500 meters and send images to Earth. The question is if, as much as talk of bringing science to everyone, it is recommended that space exploration and, above all, commercial exploitation, are in the hands of private companies.
Permanent link to this article: http://rpaladin.org.es/dos-companias-planean-instalar-un-telescopio-en-la-luna-en-tres-anos/
0 comentarios:
Publicar un comentario