After a 30-year hiatus, the United States looks to be going to the moon again.
Only this time, the government will have nothing to do with it. And instead of trying to touch down gently on the lunar surface, the idea now is to crash the craft, scattering business cards and bric-a-brac everywhere.
San Diego-based TransOrbital Inc. came one step closer to its long-planned moon mission Tuesday when it signed a $20-million contract with Russian space company Kosmotras. The deal calls for a test flight that will blast off from the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan and put a satellite into Earth orbit Dec. 20. The launch vehicle will be a mothballed rocket that once carried nuclear warheads aimed at U.S. targets.
TransOrbital President Dennis Laurie said the actual moon shot, scheduled for October 2003, would cost about $40 million.
The point of the mission? Profit.
TransOrbital is selling space aboard the moon-bound spacecraft -- not for people but for items such as business cards, photos or personal messages at $2,500 a gram. The craft also will carry a list of people who have staked "claims" to lunar acreage.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration declined to comment on the Trans- Orbital project. But NASA officials have been critical of the company in the past, accusing TransOrbital of "taking pot shots at the moon" and possibly causing "ethical and ecological" problems.
If successful, TransOrbital would become the first commercial venture to go to the moon. Backers say it could open the floodgates to business ventures there, ranging from a resting place for cremated remains to a luxurious vacation spot for the very rich.
Other lunar advocates talk of the moon as the ultimate depository of knowledge, to guard against a time when a cataclysmic event might wipe out life on Earth.
They also speak of the moon as the perfect place to train space travelers as they prepare to explore even deeper into the universe.
"My estimate is that in eight to 10 years, you should have tours going to the moon," said Laurie, who came on board the project two years ago. "It doesn't take any longer to go to the moon than it does to drive across the country."
But there are serious doubters, among them former astronaut and moon walker Alan Bean, who called the venture nothing more than a "pipe dream."
