Constellation Program??

As we know Nasa are planning to return to the moon in 2020 and plan to build bases there for future missions to Mars. But why has it taken us so long to return to the moon? Why not go back in the 80's, 90's or even recent years? We've got the technology, so why not go back, why 2020?

So then you hear all the stuff about humans being warned off the moon during the Apollo 11 mission, maybe that's why we haven't went back ... so why go back at all? Sounds like they're going back knowing that it's gonna cause a stir if we're planning on building all these bases.

Then theres the stuff about 2012, Nibiru, etc, etc. Maybe Nasa knows about this and are simply filling our heads with nonsense that we're going back in 2020 when we're obviously not.

Maybe Nasa are PLANNING on going back to the moon, but know fine well we never will. There's definetely something that's not adding up.

We went there to say we could, to return samples of lunar material, and to prove the will of the US in bettering the USSR on technological frontiers.

We have not returned since because we have had no need for quantities of moon material greater than those we already possess from Apollo. We already know we can get there, but since Apollo finished, and until recently, there has been no reason for a return beyond a romanticism of the individual personal achievement.

Now with the promise of advances in fusion power, and the demand for Helium3 this could induce, the superpowers are rightly preparing the technology and infrastructure they would need to exploit the moons vast helium3 resource and return it to earth. Of course fusion being the next means of mainstay power generation is no sure thing, but should it become a large scale reality the value of certain moon rock will exceed almost any commodity on earth. There is plenty of this resource for anyone that is willing to make the effort to get up there, so short of star wars breaking out there is no immediate rush to get back to the moon for a landgrab. Not all of the original Apollo schematics even exist, and some of the programs key engineers are no longer with us to aid in back-engineering the systems, so some time will certainly be needed to redesign the hardware.


There may also be other reasons for our return, practicing surviving long durations on other planets, testing self-sufficiency in such hostile environments, scientific experiments that probes/landers cannot carry out, just to name a few. For now though, it is a matter of re-inventing the hardware that can, when the need arises, facilitate the travel of human beings for whatever purpose to the moon and beyond.