Re: Google/X-Prize Moon Contest


"Alan Anderson" <aranders@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:aranders-230662.19573317092007@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Jeff Findley" <jeff.findley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> replied to "Jim Relsh"
<jrelish@xxxxxxxxx>:
Are you saying tourist flights to the Moon would be far to dangerous? If
so, what makes them more dangerous than the existing Soyuz tourist
flights?

The cislunar environment is subject to more radiation than one finds in
Low Earth Orbit. I'd call that a legitimate reason for considering
flights to the moon to be more dangerous than flights to a LEO station.

Of course, a reasonable design for a lunar tourism vehicle would take
that into consideration and provide enough shielding to address the
problem.

The argument that lunar spaceflight is "too dangerous" to support tourist
flights needs to be supported in some way, especially since there are some
very dangerous things you can do on earth that support small markets.

Note that several people die trying to summit Mt. Everest every year, yet
there doesn't seem to be any problem finding a new batch of "tourists"
willing to try the next year. In fact, it's getting pretty crowded up
there. So the threat of death, insurance problems, and lawsuits may not be
as big a deal as Jim Relsh thinks.

Even on the few Soyuz tourist flights, there is a distinct non-zero chance
of death. Soyuz is statistically about as safe as the shuttle, yet there
are no real signs that the Russians are going to stop flying tourists them.

Jeff
--
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a
little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor
safety"
- B. Franklin, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (1919)



.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Google/X-Prize Moon Contest
    ... flights to the moon to be more dangerous than flights to a LEO station. ... about solar flares during the transit from LEO to the moon's ... water in a storm cellar would be necessary to protect tourists ...
    (sci.space.policy)
  • Re: Google/X-Prize Moon Contest
    ... flights to the moon to be more dangerous than flights to a LEO station. ... Such shielding, for the brief duration of a lunar flyby or brief ... about solar flares during the transit from LEO to the moon's ... water in a storm cellar would be necessary to protect tourists ...
    (sci.space.policy)
  • Re: Google/X-Prize Moon Contest
    ... flights to the moon to be more dangerous than flights to a LEO station. ... about solar flares during the transit from LEO to the moon's ... water in a storm cellar would be necessary to protect tourists ... best answer to cosmic rays. ...
    (sci.space.policy)
  • Re: Google/X-Prize Moon Contest
    ... flights to the moon to be more dangerous than flights to a LEO station. ... about solar flares during the transit from LEO to the moon's ... water in a storm cellar would be necessary to protect tourists ... best answer to cosmic rays. ...
    (sci.space.policy)
  • Re: What to bring to South Africa
    ... Local church groups, feeding schemes, ... literacy schemes, AIDS awareness and support groups, etc. ... There are loads of opportunities for tourists to visit ... A regular contributor ...
    (rec.travel.africa)