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Thread: Could I go to the moon?

  1. #1
    Scam Hunter Broker's Avatar
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    Could I go to the moon?

    I mean I have no immediate plans to actually go, but if I decide that I want to do that, is there some governing body that I need to contact? Or do I just show up and hope the authorities are cool about everything?



  2. #2
    King of Mars bolaberlim's Avatar
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    You can go, no worries. Bring me back a rock.

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  4. #3
    Ask these guys if you can hitch a ride:
    http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-30110442

    Bring me back green cheese. I have enough rocks.


    ~Sherry.
    Eterna | Tudor | Seiko | Casio | G-Shock | Orient | Swatch | Mondaine | Zodiac (pre-Fossil) | Rolex | Wenger | Pulsar Time Computer | Omega | Timex | Bucherer | Citizen | Bulova | Glycine

  5. #4
    Every so often, someone thinks no one has claimed the moon, and then rushes to claim it
    No-one owns it, so apart from getting the appropriate insurance in case your rocket launch goes horribly wrong and getting some sort of authorisation from various civil aviation authorities (I expect) for sending a rocket through potential flight (of normal aircraft) paths, then you're good to go (I expect)

  6. #5
    As far as I know, there are no laws per se on landing on the moon, but there are laws when it comes to your mode of transportation.

    You need a permit to buy the fuel needed to reach the moon, and you need to pass safety checks and the like before you can launch. Even after you launch, there are laws about the debris and noise and the like for which you need to get exceptions.

    Before any of this, you need a qualified pilot and an astronaut because otherwise, you'll probably be charged with reckless endangerment or some such nonsense. Typically, getting an FAA recognized instrument rating pilot license to fly something like a shuttle would take ~3-5 years of flying.

    And then there is the return -- assuming you want to return at all, of course.

    There are also organizations that will help you in this endeavor. One of my friends is part of an organization called Astronauts for Hire: http://www.astronauts4hire.org/
    Last edited by M. Montaigne; Nov 19, 2014 at 07:47 PM.

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  8. #6
    Not without the correct Speedmaster.

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  10. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by RYANBROOKLYNBOSTON View Post
    Not without the correct Speedmaster.
    And shark repellent.

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  12. #8
    Timewaster jsw41's Avatar
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    Don't forget to take along some water, and a suit, and some oxygen.

    John
    If you come to a fork in the road; take it, and then put it down so someone else can use it.

  13. #9
    KEØJNF Spooky's Avatar
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    Authorities? As in space police?

  14. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Spooky View Post
    Authorities? As in space police?
    Getting to the moon is different from flying a sophisticated plane capable of reaching low earth orbit.

    Your path into space and to moon cannot avoid national boundaries. It's pretty much a ballistic shot there, and back. But for all they know, you could be a crazy terrorist bootstrapping a dirty nuke to a ballistic missile being shot into New York or London.

    There are no credible defenses against ballistic missiles. It's not technologically feasible, not completely. I mean, even if you had a defense that was 99.99% effective, it's meaningless because the .01% could be a massive nuke that wipes everything out. So, countries are scared shitless of anyone with the ability to launch ballistic anything.

    So, any private enterprise aiming to get to outer space needs approval not just from the country it's being launched from but also socialize the idea with other nation states. Otherwise, there's nothing stopping Russia from sending a dozen aircraft to intercept and shoot down any ballistic missile headed into outer space.

    And that is why private space endeavors are often backed by rich and powerful people (e.g., Musk or Branson). Even so, their space flights are not a tenth as sophisticated as a mission to moon.

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