Guest: Dr. Arlin Crotts. Topics: water on the Moon, liquid mirror telescopes, space exploration, NASA budget. Dr. Arlin Crotts was our guest for this show regarding his work on water on the Moon. Please read his Oct. 12, 2009 Space Review article, "Water on the Moon," www.thespacereview.com/article//1485/1. Our first segment started with a detailed and most interesting discussion on liquid mirror telescopes. We then switched to the main topic for the program, water on the Moon. Dr. Crotts said that scientifically, this was very compelling because according to our models water should not be there. We discussed the benefits and advantages for finding water on the Moon for humans as well as for making rocket fuel and of course for expanding scientific knowledge. During this segment, our guest went through the various ideas and theories as to the source of lunar water. This is a discussion you don't want to miss. In response to a question about a mission to confirm the source of lunar water, Dr. Crotts speculated a 4-5 year time period, perhaps up to $500 million for a mission to conduct ground penetrating radar examinations of the entire Moon. In the second segment, Dr. Crotts was asked about the possibility of lunar volcanic water sources. He also talked about fuel cells and using the Moon as a stepping stone for learning how to live and work in space and move outward to Mars, a NEO, or elsewhere of interest. He said he took issue with Mars being the ultimate destination and that there may be other destinations of equal or more importance that we should visit. Again, you will want to hear his ideas and the why behind them. In response to a question about the perfect kind of space program, he said space exploration should be science led in that we need to be very well informed and prepared as we move out into space. Much was said on this theme and as you will hear, its an important discussion. In Segment Three, we talked about knowing and understanding our place in the university and other intelligence that may be discovered in space. In light of this discussion, Dr. Crotts talked about the role of both robots and humans in space exploration. Later in this final segment, the NASA budget was addressed. Here, Dr. Crotts suggested that for small amounts more in the budget, we could do significantly more with our space program. Budget cuts go in the wrong direction because then all that happens is the NASA overhead and infrastructure costs are met. Understanding what Dr. Crotts is talking about with the budget, meeting the basic overhead and infrastructure costs, and getting perhaps double or more bang for the buck is important. At the end of the program, we talked about the Russian Luna 24 mission which found signs of water on the Moon back in 1976. You will want to hear his comments on this and not missing science for years if not decades that may be right in front of our noses. If you want to send Dr. Arlin Crotts a comment or question, please do so through me at drspace@thespaceshow.com.
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