The Lunar proposals ranged from reusing the docking systems developed for the Agena target vehicle on more powerful upper stages such as the Centaur, which could propel the spacecraft to the Moon, to complete modifications of the Gemini to enable it to land on the Lunar surface.
In particular, a Lagrangian point orbit location - in the Earth- Moon system - is suggested for a manned cis-lunar infrastructure; proposal which opens an interesting field of study from the astrodynamics perspective.
After the Symposium "Protection of Part of a Celestial Body for the Scientific Benefit of Humankind: the Lunar Farside Crater SAHA Proposal", which I organized at the COSPAR 1998 Scientific Assembly, the IAA Space Science Committee endorsed also this study.
The catch is the fare the small matter of $100m a seat.Although it may seem implausible that a tiny company could offer such a trip, Space Adventures has already organised travel to the International Space Station for two fare-paying passengers, and a third is due to fly in October, so its proposals for lunar tourism need to be taken seriously.
The Japanese Lunar-A penetrator spacecraft proposal is a good example of such a single-thruster spin-stabilised prolate spacecraft.
After being accused in so many debates of pandering, this time it was Mr. Romney accusing Mr. Gingrich of playing to the crowd with his proposal for a lunar colony, which Mr. Romney said may be popular around the Kennedy Space Center in Florida but unrealistic in practice.
In retrospect, his ludicrous proposal to establish a lunar colony by 2020 was a sign of desperation.
The initial proposal was for a Lunar orbit rendezvous mission, using a Gemini spacecraft and a lightweight, open cockpit lander, launched by a Saturn C-3 rocket.
One of these proposals was the Gemini Lunar Orbit Rescue Vehicle, which was designed to retrieve the crew of an Apollo spacecraft stranded in orbit around the Moon.
Early coverage of the meeting, which was first described last month by the magazine Aviation Week and Space Technology, suggested that even before the meeting, those attending were ready to recommend scrapping proposals for a long-term lunar base and moving on quickly to explore asteroids.
