Space future-ation...

Billy Jo Albritton

November 26, 2012

My name is Billy Albritton and this is my vision. It's nice to think of Mars as the first place to begin space colonization; with recent evidence from Curiosity of ancient streams, it's no surprise scientists would pick this planet of the 8 (Thanks Neil. Ha!) I've read many studies and the physical and mental stresses astronauts would endure on this type of mission, and do not believe this type of mission to be feasible. I'm thinking closer to home would be a great place to start. There is the ISS, but complications arise when you're trying to dock multiple vehicles with a station moving thousands of miles per hour. It makes me think of an old saying "Walk before you crawl", in the sense, although it lacks almost all resources needed, the lunar surface would be a much better suitor. It's close, easy, and more privately funded missions would be willing to invest in a place they could/might/probably be able to visit in the near future. It would be a great place for scientific experimentation, along with the ease of expansion from materials that could brought from earth during each mission. I'm referring to the physical structures. My main area of interest is Lunar Surface Support Systems. Florida Institute of Technology doesn't offer such a degree, pushing me to pursue this knowledge on my own time. It would also make a great training base for astronauts looking to make the deep space travel to Mars in the future, and I believe, this type of endeavor could get government backing with more ease than a Mars Mission. Yes, we've been to the moon, we've walked on it, but we have yet to establish a presence there. It would/could/should be the hub of new technologies and future space travels. Thanks for listening Planetary Society.