http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/article6848177.ece
>From The Times September 25, 2009 Water on the Moon may boost Nasa into 21st-century space race Jacqui Goddard, Miami The timing could not have been better. Struggling to overcome chronic underfunding, technical problems and a lack of political commitment, and with public interest waning, Nasas plans for sending astronauts back to the Moon seemed at risk of being frozen. News that water may be lurking in the lunar soil could prompt a thaw. Only last month a board appointed by President Obama to review Nasas manned space exploration programme concluded that its goals - which include having people on the lunar surface again by 2020, ready to start the process of establishing the first off-Earth colony - were unrealistic without an extra $3 billion (£1.86 billion) a year from the Government. As the President considers which of Nasas dreams to shatter and which to back, the water issue could be a turning point. This information could prove highly influential, said Dr Howard McCurdy of the American University in Washington, an expert on space policy. It strengthens the case for going back to the Moon and then on to Mars. It increases the case for moving forward at a time when the President is being advised not to increase anyones budget - except for the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. When it launched Constellation, its new manned space flight programme, in 2006, Nasa estimated that it would need $119 billion to return to the Moon - a goal it was told to aim for by President George W. Bush. It has never been granted a budget to match. Yet the debate on whether to focus on the Moon or on Mars and other areas within the solar system is not just about money. There are questions over scientific value, with many until now viewing the Moon as a barren environment that held little of interest to explorers. Water could be used to sustain human activity and generate fuel for spacecraft. If it is accessible and available in sufficient quantities, it would enable people to settle on the Moon and use it as a staging-post and filling station for missions farther into space. On October 27 Nasa is due to take a big step towards its lunar return programme when it launches Ares 1-X - a prototype of the rocket that is intended to replace the Space Shuttle and carry astronauts back to the Moon - at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Nasa managers are waiting for the signal from the White House as to whether the test should go ahead, or whether the $3 billion rocket will be scrapped in favour of cheaper, safer, commercial models, and whether Nasa might skip the Moon altogether. Whatever the outcome, the schedule is slipping badly. Without extra money, the Americans are unlikely to sink more footprints into the lunar soil until after 2030, if at all. And if they get there, they may have company. China has stepped up its space programme, with plans to put a taikonaut on the Moon by 2030. Russia and Japan estimate they may be ready to launch manned missions before then. All plan to establish their own bases. Commercial organisations are also jostling for position, with many advocating robotic exploration. Eager to revolutionise the space industry, innovators from 45 countries are competing for the Google Lunar X-Prize, which will award $30 million to the first private team that can get an unmanned lander to the Moon, roll it 500 metres and send images back. The competition, which could be won and lost in 2011, will open up a new era of space commerce, proving that it is not just billion-dollar agencies of government that can cross the final frontier. Whether the US remains the front runner in getting Man back to the Moon is a question the President needs to answer, Dr McCurdy said.
