NASA Plans on Permanent Presence on the Moon

"'We're going back, and this time we're going to stay,'' S. Pete Worden, director of NASA Ames, said in remarks opening the lunar science conference. "This is the first step in settling the solar system.'' "

Apparently, we're going to start living on the moon....

A conference that officially started yesterday in Silicon Valley at NASA's Lunar Science Institute brings together over 400 of the world's top scientists to decide what we should do when we reach the moon.

"I think we should study rocks!"

"Well I think we should study water!"

"No you idiots! We should study the air up there!"

all together: "You Moron! There is no air up there!"

"oh...."

It probably won't sound like that but who knows right? Actually, the conference deals with what science should be done on the moon when we get there. "For the next three days, Silicon Valley will be the base for planning humankind's return to the moon, as more than 400 scientists from around the world assemble at NASA's Ames Research Center for a conference on what type of science should be done when astronauts revisit Earth's nearest neighbor.It could happen in the decade after NASA retires the space shuttle in 2010 and begins flying a new generation of rocket booster. And it won't be a temporary visit, NASA officials and scientists said Sunday. The United States, they said, focus on creating a permanent presence on the moon, using it as a training platform for missions to Mars and beyond. "


http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,24050515-5001021,00.html