The power of green cheese

It’s greater than we thought. The mere mention of green cheese can repeal the laws of physics, economics, and common sense.

The moon has one-sixth the gravitational field of Earth, so moon-based
aircraft could launch from there more cheaply.

Yes, and they are much cheaper to build and operate, too! No pesky wings or fuel required! On the moon, you see, aircraft fly just as well without such mundane accoutrements. Air. Craft.

Even the often-silly-on-science Gregg Easterbrook has detected the (I promise never again to call it) lunacy of the Bush plan:

[A] Moon base would not only not be useful to support a Mars mission—it would be an obstacle to a Mars mission. Any weight bound for Mars can far more efficiently depart directly from low-Earth orbit than a first stop at the Moon; a stop at the Moon would require huge expenditures of fuel to land and take off again. The landing, in turn, would accomplish absolutely nothing—any mission components on the Moon would have been sent there from Earth, which means they could have departed directly for Mars from low-Earth orbit at a far lower cost.

I want to humans go to Mars and come safely home again in my lifetime. Bush’s plan, although it uses the word “Mars,” will make that goal less attainable. If you have been paying attention to anything that has happened in this country over the last 3 years, this is no surprise.

Filed under: science