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All -- I wonder whatever happened to this jaunt to the moon scheduled =
for two years ago. Tried to find out on if anything was actually =
attempted but found out nothing. Anybody know anything about this? =
Cheryl
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Rense.com=20
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Resolution Of The Moon=20
Hoax Conundrum?
By <mailto:neil.mackay@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>Neil Mackay
The Sunday Herald - UK
9-8-2
Was it one giant leap for man kind, or was it all a big fake by =
Nasa? The world will soon find out -- when the first commercial flight =
to the moon blasts off in an attempt to refute claims that the 1969 moon =
landing was a hoax.=20
=20
Nasa has been plagued for 33 years by conspiracy theorists, =
crackpots and even respected scientists and writers who insist that Neil =
Armstrong never set foot on the moon and the whole Apollo mission was a =
stunt.=20
=20
Now, however, the US State Department and the National Oceanic =
and Atmospheric Admin istration have given a California company, Trans =
Orbital Inc, permission to send a probe to the moon. The launch is =
scheduled for June 2003, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.=20
=20
The Trailblazer probe will map the surface and photograph the =
earth in the hope of marketing the images -- and it will photograph the =
lunar landing site at the Sea of Tranquillity to see if the Eagle really =
did land.=20
=20
Photographs should (unless a global conspiracy truly has been =
pulled) show Neil Armstrong's footprint in the moondust and other debris =
from the landing, and lay to rest the claims that the moon landing was =
filmed on a back lot in Nevada.=20
=20
The decision to let the mission go ahead has opened the door to =
moon business. 'The moon is ripe for commercial development,' said =
Dennis Laurie, head of TransOrbital. 'It's a lot closer than you think, =
at least in travel time, which is four days.' He added: 'We're also =
looking to verify Apollo and other landing sites.'=20
=20
TrailBlazer will orbit the moon for 90 days, mapping the =
moonscape in unprecedented detail to a resolution as small as one metre. =
It will film the Earth as it rises over the lunar horizon. After its =
mission, TrailBlazer will crash-land on the moon, taking 'barnstorming' =
videos all the way down. It will carry a time capsule containing =
messages and personal items that will stay on the moon after the crash.=20
=20
The company will fund the venture -- thought to cost at least =
=A350 million -- through corporate endorsements and by licensing the =
images obtained for advertising, education and entertainment, such as =
video games .=20
=20
Maps of the moon will also be sold to companies hoping to mine =
it in the future, carry out scientific research or develop plans for =
further exploration. Several other private companies are pursuing moon =
missions. Lunacorp, of Virginia, hopes to put Supersat, a high-bandwidth =
live video satellite, into lunar orbit in 2003.=20
=20
=A92002 smg sunday newspapers ltd. no.176088. all rights =
reserved.
=20
Email This Article=20
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