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Thread ID: 117919	2011-05-11 00:39:00	Been There - Done It Already.	SurferJoe46 (51)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1201185	2011-05-11 00:39:00	Well - going to the sun was ruled out since they didn't think they could get there and back during the night when it was cooler - so, what's next? The MOON! China to launch lunar rover, mine moon for nuclear fuel By Tuan C . Nguyen | May 10, 2011, 2:00 AM PDT A top Chinese official has confirmed that the world’s most populous nation plans to send robots to the moon . Ziyuan Ouyang, chief scientist of the Chinese lunar exploration program, made the announcement at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), held in Shanghai . The missions, scheduled for launch in 2013 and 2017, will serve as a tune up for a more challenging goal: putting a man on the moon by 2025 . “But why?” you ask . Well, beyond obvious bragging rights, the China National Space Administration’s ambitious foray into lunar exploration is part of a grander scheme to exploit the moon’s vast iron reserves and its abundance of Helium-3, a rare but heavily sought-after fuel for nuclear fusion plants . This elaborate operation to mine the moon for these coveted natural resources was set in motion back in 2007 when the agency launched into space its first lunar orbiter Chang’e-1 (named after the moon goddess of Chinese folklore) to scan the landscape and produce a detailed 3-D map of the moon’s surface . This was followed in 2010 by the successful launch of another probe, Chang’e-2, which was equipped with a higher-resolution camera and orbited at an even closer distance of 100 kilometers . The data is being used to pinpoint an ideal landing spot for a rover . In the U . S . , however, the timeline for a return to the moon is up in the air now that NASA’s Constellation Program has since been canceled due to budget constraints . I wonder if they've filed an EPA and HAZ-Mat prospectus yet? Lessee: FIRST - build a big spaceship --- then--------> 1) Take robots and cases of balloons for the Helium-3 to moon . 2) Make robots dig and inflate Helium-3 balloons with threats of no digging - no recharge . 3) Robots join Moon Miner's & Helium-3 Balloon Inflator's Union (MM&H-3BIU) - and file a union grievance in The Hague and go on strike for more Plutonium 235 for their own recreational use . Negative cash flow . 4) Inflate millions of Helium-3 balloons somehow after settling union wildcat strike . 5) Send Japanese automated Helium-3 balloon inflating plant do-it-yourself kit #23-9D135 . 2 from Earth to moon . Negative cash flow . 6) Send spaceship back for screws that were left out of inflating kit . Negative cash flow . 7) Send Certified Balloon Filling Station engineers to expedite balloon filling efficiency and generally muck things up - but they aren't union and cannot work with unionized robots - more negative cash flow . 8) Organize Moon Helium-3 Engineer's & Balloon Filler's Labor Union (MH-3E & BFLU) . Expected negative cash flow seriously underestimated . 9) MH-3E & BFLU goes on strike for more oxygen in space suits . More negative cash flow . 10) Send ships with big tanks back to Earth for more oxygen and more empty Helium-3 balloons . Normal negative cash expenditure was acceptable and expected for this situation . 11) Oxygen ships delayed - somehow the fuses got wet; Helium-3 filling station balloons will be a little late too . Union workers still draw salary when they run out of balloons . Negative cash flow . 12) Greenpeace and Earth Huggers march and picket launch site: two hundred protestors incinerated in rocket exhaust as ships take off for moon . 13) Lawsuits for immolated protestors filed in Court For Interplanetary Ministry Of Funny Walks . 14) Robotic miners accidentally discover that there are moon men living under the moon's crust and the residents file a motion to declare Exclusive Dominion For Lunar Indigenous Occupants' Sovereignty -- In Perpetuity . 15) China has never had so many lawsuits and motions filed, nor the negative cash flow like this before and quits the whole moon-mining operation, leaving robots, thousands of cases of Helium-3 balloons, used rocket fuel tanks and empty rice bags all over the moon . 16) The Interstellar Environmentalist's Union files suits to make China go back and police the moon and remove the trash for recycling . 17) China says: "Talk to the hand" and in a final act of frustration, concedes that it no longer wants to be a world power and goes back to the Laws of Hammurabi and seals it's borders to foreigners, Olympics officials and outside vendors .	SurferJoe46 (51)
1201186	2011-05-11 01:36:00	At least there is no one up there to complain about destroying their environment (that we know of so far)	Gobe1 (6290)
1201187	2011-05-11 02:40:00	17) China says: "Talk to the hand" and in a final act of frustration, concedes that it no longer wants to be a world power and goes back to the Laws of Hammurabi and seals it's borders to foreigners, Olympics officials and outside vendors. Not sure if this thread is pro American, anti Chinese or just d'oh, but there is a grocer's apostrophe in 17, and more misplaced in 3 & 8. No prizes for finding them though. Cheers Billy 8-{) :D Why? Oh just an idle post-prandial whim I guess, and because I could see them, no ulterior motive and no offence intended.	Billy T (70)
1201188	2011-05-11 02:55:00	Not sure if this thread is pro American, anti Chinese or just d'oh, but there is a grocer's apostrophe in 17, and more misplaced in 3 & 8 . No prizes for finding them though . Cheers Billy 8-{) :D Why? Oh just an idle post-prandial whim I guess, and because I could see them, no ulterior motive and no offence intended . Grocer's what? That's a new one to me . It's just a little skylarking by me - not intended to be offensive - just incidental to something I read and made a rather arcane comment or two about . Hope your sup was good .	SurferJoe46 (51)
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