Should private spaceflights be allowed to orbit the moon?

Question

What of contamination issues if an accident occurs, bodies littering the surface if there is a crash; recovery?...and its affect upon future manned missions funded by the general public?

Answer 1

If a privately funded mission flew around the Moon, who would (or should) stop them? There are always risks in space flight, if we worried that much about accidents, the Apollo program never would have gotten off the ground? If the mission did end in disaster, the remains would not deter future exploration. You can't stop the pioneering spirit.

Answer 2

A few thousand dead bodies littering the Moon would not extend any major problems to future travelers. Surface temperature on the moon is roughly -270 Degrees F in cold periods so one may be fairly certain that the bodies would have exploded and what was left would have been flash frozen like a fish filet in a sea food processing plant. Given the vast acreage on the Moon, you would need to dump about 75 to 90 Million dead bodies there before they really became obvious to visitors. Most of the bodies dumped there would eventually be fried to a crisp in the punishing solar radiation on the surface of the Moon, and totally disintegrate into dust within a few months.

A major problem yet to be resolved would lay in the unused cell phone minutes each of these dead space travelers might still have on their accounts. How would others recover those unused minutes? Would unlimited Long Distance on Cell Phones include calls to the Moon?

Answer 3

The government should never stop people from endangering their own lives, if they so wish. As for contamination, that's such a non-issue that I'm astounded anyone would even think to ask it. Who would be hurt by this "contamination"? This sort of mentality would've prevented the Wright brothers from ever flying, on the grounds that they didn't have some stinkin' bureaucrat's permission.

Ultimately, I would love for private companies to take over and dominate the spaceflight industry, just as they've taken over & are dominating the airflight industry.

Answer 4

What if someone dives under the ocean and crashes and the ocean floor is littered with bodies?

If they can make it there, let them have at it. If they're putting someone else's life in danger, such as if their space craft crashed into a home, they should be held accountable.

They should also have to have a license. You require a license to fly an airplane, you should require a license for flying a spacecraft and for galactic travel. Intergalactic should have another license.

Also, the spacecraft should have to pass a rigorous inspection, just as any other transportation vehicle does.

Answer 5

On the sunlight side of an astronaut on the moon . the temperature in the light is about + 350 deg. F. do u think that would sterilize it. The temp being so hot and in the shadow it is -200 deg. F. With no atmosphere nothing is going to live. Space will take care of itself.

Answer 6

No. The Moon is my personal property and I don't want land developers surveying the place or dropping trash until I am ready to sell.

Answer 7

All of the hazards you mention are present for NASA, also. Who is going to stop anyone with the wealth and know how to do this?

Answer 8

There's no life on the moon, so nothing to contaiminate so yes!

Answer 9

If there are eneough people willing to pay then yes.

Answer 10

No authority exists WHICH HAS THE POWER TO ENFORCE ACTIVITY IN SPACE. SO YOUR QUESTION IS MEANINGLESS.