Challenge: A University On The Moon

ninebucks

Banned
How would it be possible for a University to be the first organisation to place a human being on the Moon?

The purpose of this challenge, government assistance/funds are acceptable, but the leader of any mission to the moon has to be academic.
 
It would probably be one of the most expensive universities around, not to mention the smallest faculty and student body.

If established today or the near future:

1. Classes and lectures broadcast to terrestrial universities.
2. Some degree of self-sufficiency.
3. Fairly limited classroom space.
4. Own observatory.
5. Probably quarter system rather than semester system academic year.
6. Bulk of administrative work carried out on Earth.
7. Structure itself built from modular components. Would expect that university would expand by about 2-3 components per year.
8. International student body, but expect most to come from first world nations.
9. Faculty to student ratio pretty low.
10. No permanent faculty at first. Most rotated out at least once a year.

Well, that has nothing to do with the WI. Sorry.
 

Leo Caesius

Banned
How would it be possible for a University to be the first organisation to place a human being on the Moon?

The purpose of this challenge, government assistance/funds are acceptable, but the leader of any mission to the moon has to be academic.
Let's see. Harvard, which has the largest endowment of any university, has $34 billion, which would cover running NASA for less than two years. Apparently the Apollo spacecraft cost something in the area of $83 billion, adjusted for today's prices. So it would have to be a consortium of universities, with federal support.

I could, however, see Harvard getting the bomb (God help us all).
 

ninebucks

Banned
Let's see. Harvard, which has the largest endowment of any university, has $34 billion, which would cover running NASA for less than two years. Apparently the Apollo spacecraft cost something in the area of $83 billion, adjusted for today's prices. So it would have to be a consortium of universities, with federal support.

I could, however, see Harvard getting the bomb (God help us all).

Step One: Harvard gets the bomb.

Step Two: Harvard demands the money for a Moon mission. :D
 
How much would it cost to do an air-launched Apollo 11 equivalent?

(This is pure guessing)

A lot?

Even with air launch, you're still going to need a booster big enough to get you
a) into orbit
b) to the Moon
c) brake into Moon orbit
d) launch from Moon orbit

And of course, it has to carry some analogue of the Apollo capsule, the Service module, and the Lunar Landing module.

Air-launch isn't going to help that much. It soes get you above the really thick, bottom part of the atmosphere, but doesn't gain much forward speed (in space terms).
Basically, you're talking about a plane which would make a Jumbo look like a Cessna. Air-launching just isn't going to help that much.

Sea-launching, on the other hand...

the Sea Dragon:

sdragon.jpg


Why yes, that little speck at the nose is an Apollo capsule, to scale, since you ask... :)

Sea Dragon would probably be more feasible for a university to fund (although not build themselves - a shipyard could do that), since it's a much lower-cost concept than the Saturn V (much less fine tolerances needed, 2-stage to orbit). It also has a much higher payload (550 metric tons to LEO, as opposed to about 120 max. for the Saturn V), so the payload to the Moon can be higher too, and again, much lower tolerances and less high-tech materials could be used for that payload. This should all reduce the cost of a moon programme considerably.

Hell, you could probably put together a big, chunky single-stage moon landing/command vehicle, rather than having to separate the moon lander and the command module. That was only done OTL due to weight considerations.
 

Thande

Donor
Interesting idea. Sounds very 1930s utopian (like the Shape of Things to Come).

Maybe a consortium consisting of the Ivy League + Oxbridge + possibly some of the European big shots?
 

Thande

Donor
Let's see. Harvard, which has the largest endowment of any university, has $34 billion, which would cover running NASA for less than two years. Apparently the Apollo spacecraft cost something in the area of $83 billion, adjusted for today's prices. So it would have to be a consortium of universities, with federal support.
If I may reference an obviously biased website, and bearing in mind that OTL of course represents the worst possible approach to space travel and any change at all results in a massive wank ( ;) ), it's possible to do a 1960s moon landing - albeit with only one person - at a cost of around $10-12 billion. (If one adjusts their probably rather dodgy estimates upward a bit).
 
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