What to do if you're Russia and things are not working out too well for you here on Earth? What to do what to do . . .
No kidding, it's not April 1st or anything. This is a real story from the Moscow News about how some folks in Russia plan to colonize the moon.
Russia’s spacecraft manufacturer Energiya said Thursday it planned to lauch extraction of lunar reserves of helium-3 to boost terrestrial energy supplies, once a re-usable cargo is commissioned. Energiya’s chief Nikolai Sevastyanov said helium-3 could eventually supplement dwindling reserves of natural oil and gas, the RIA Novosti news agency reports.
“The Moon has vast reserves of helium-3, and this is the closest place to the Earth where it can be extracted. This fuel is highly effective and has no equivalents on our planet, where natural resources are limited,” Sevastyanov said. The Moon’s industrial development could eliminate the shortage of energy resources on our planet, Energiya chief said earlier.
Energiya intends to implement the first stage of its lunar program in 2010-2015, using Soyuz piloted spacecraft, Soyuz-FG and Proton carrier rockets. During the second stage (2015-2020), the space corporation intends to establish a permanent lunar transportation system to include Clipper shuttles — a six-person spacecraft that can be used to send astronauts into orbit, and potentially to the Moon or Mars. It will allow four non-professionals to be taken into space alongside two professional cosmonauts, and is expected to be used also for space tourism. During the third stage (2020-2025), a permanent base is expected to be created on the Moon.
Sure, Russia can't manage to stabilize its population here on Earth, or conduct a real election, or raise wages above $300 per month or manufacture an international saleable motor vehicle or conquer tiny Chechnya, but that doesn't mean it can't successfuly set up housekeeping up on the moon, right? (For those who think so, I've got a lovely bridge here in Brooklyn that is for sale at a steep discount!)
4 comments:
They have the brains to do that. This would make Russia really "Great". Unfortunately they have another "Great Russia" in mind. And that' why they can't manage it all. But would they pursue such kind of scientific/economic ideals in the frame of a civilized democratic non imperial mindset, they would succeed.
Best, Mark.
Very well put! But to be civilized and democratic means taking responsibility for your own actions, and it seems Russians prefer to live in the undemocratic world of dreams. How much longer that world will last is anybody's guess.
hey "la russophobe" - why don't you create your own content? Can’t believe you are actually spending your precious time reading other blogs, which are “clearly inferior” to your own. Would love to see more of your’ own original content… as they said in the Soviet union… “if you can’t create, you can always critique”…. It’s not a famous expression, by the way… you might now have heard that one, during your “numerous and extensive” explorations of the Motherland.
hello, tim:
as explained in the introductory post to his blog, its main purpose is to record the rise of the neo-Soviet Union by referencing mainstream media accounts. this grounds the blog in objective fact, so it cannot be accused of being propagandistic (except by maniacs). it encourages the reader to perceive the true meaning of reporting they find around them every day.
however, the blog does include content original to La Russophobe. if you've missed it, we suggest you have a look through our archives. if you want to encourage La Russophobe's original content, why don't you say something positive about one of the many posts that are original. for example, the lead post on the blog right now is original to La Russophobe ("Mike Averko: A legend in his own [Neo-Soviet] mind")
or, in the alternative, why not suggest a particular topic that you'd like to have La Russophobe analyze. La Russophobe is always open and highly responsive to such suggestions.
in other words, LR prefers a different Russian expression: "I can't put your amorphous suggestion in my pocket."
Thanks for reading La Russophobe!
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