I disagree totally, unless it’s a temporary one.
To explore and learn is one thing. This kind of thinking, however, implies treating the moom as new territory to conquer. It raises the question of ‘whose moon is it, anyway?’

I wouldn’t want to see a heavenly bodies’ grab race.

Nations don’t lack for areas of conflict, as it is.
A temporary intrusion for scientific reasons is one thing. But to make the moon the property of any one nation, where this is heading, fool-hardy to the utmost degree.

At the very least, this issue should be discussed at an international level.

Space exploration has been transformational to the fields of physics, astronomy, and geology. It’s the basis for much of our understanding of global climate change. It provided a peaceful avenue to develop most of the high technology that we use to defend the country. Building a missile that could hit a specific spot on the Moon proved we could hit any target on the planet, without starting a war with Russia.

Investment in basic science and exploration always pays dividends in the long run. It’s reckless military adventures that usually cause a country’s downfall

There is also the problem of politicizing space. Man takes his baggage of greed, competition and rivalry with him, whereever he goes. It’s not too hard to imagine a war on the moon over rights to one thing or another.

I hope we set limits to what can be drawn into our sphere of influence and retain a proper respect for nature as it is, without remaking it.

As for a moon base I’m all for it. I know we can likely do the same research more efficiently from orbit, but to me space exploration isn’t about efficiency. Its about pushing the boundaries, forcing us to do impossible things and design new technology to do it. Its not about playing it safe or merely setting up a new lab in the most exotic place we can.

Also, I believe it is insanely lofty goals like this that spur interest in engineering and science, which this nations schools have failed to do and we are currently running low on technically skilled college grads. Think about the 60′s, the most incredible time ever for tech advancment. Rocketry, computers, communications were all taking recognizable shape in that decade. They’ve certainly been refined since then, but fundamentally they haven’t changed all the much since we decided to go to the moon. Think about it, we had biplanes in the 1920′s. 40 years later we had the SR-71 blackbird. 40 After that we still have the SR-71 blackbird as a benchmark.

I think we could something inspiring once again.

There are plans to tap tidal power. One involved putting a hydroelectric dam across Canada’s famous Bay of Fundy, with its massive tides. Water would flow through the dam one was as the tide flowed in and another as flowed out.

Another involved using small tidal energy generators on top of small, artificial coral atolls near coasts. During WWII someone noticed that the tide broke all around coral atolls, not just on one side. With a small tidal energy generator in the middle, able to turn a turbine with a push from any side, electricity would be generated.

Both of these ideas were from Science Digest from about 20-25 years ago. I’m not sure what their status is.

My thought is: wouldn’t it theoretically be possible to harness tidal energy the way we get hydroelectric power now, but on a larger scale in the oceans? Obviously storage or transmission of that energy would be a problem, but perhaps a problem that could be solved? Is there anyone that can tell me if this has already been considered and shot down (and if so, in laymans terms can you explain why?), or if it’s currently being considered?

If you want more practical suggestions, see the most recent issue of Science, which discusses the global energy crisis and its possible solutions. It mostly discusses biofuels and solar power.

I might also point out that many things that can be done on the moon can also be done in orbit around the Earth. Orbiting radio telescopes can have shields on their Earth-facing sides to protect them from electromagnetic interference. Optical telescopes–well, we already have the Hubble and more advanced ones can be made. You can even get electrical power from orbit, using vast solar panel arrays and microwave beams to transmit the power–costly and complex, but much less so than moon-based power sources.

And then there’s the fact that we’ve already been to the moon. And the fact that human exploration is more costly and risky than machine-based exploration.

As for me, going to the moon or Mars doesn’t really excite me. I’m looking forward to 2011, when NASA is supposed to send the Terrestrial Planet Finder into orbit. It’s an inferometry-based orbiting pair of telescopes that can not only locate Earth-sized worlds, but might be able to provide some information as to atmospheric composition.

If an Earth-like world is discovered, that would be a big deal for me. Though it would be extremely unlikely that even an unmanned probe could reach it in my lifetime, it would certainly spur a great deal of planning in that direction