81–90 of 94 posts
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True, that would strengthen the business case for participants in subsequent competitions.
Disagree. What’s the management cliché? SMART goals — Specific, Measurable, Attainable/Assignable, Relevant/Realistic, Time-bound. Without a time constraint, most people[citation needed] keep putting things off until later.
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I know what people mean when they say "dark side of the moon" but it always bothers me. There is no "dark side" to the moon. The picture that got stuck in my head was seeing the moon transit the earth: http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2015/08/21/4296866.ht... Beautiful picture.
Isn't it the dark side of the moon, since spacecraft passing behind the moon go 'dark'; out of radio contact since the moon blocks radio signals? On the other hand: it's the side of the moon that never receives earthshine. So it's dark in that sense.
I think the biggest problem is radio communication !?
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Just curious (not a competitor :), what business model is there in placing micro-sats on the moon?
Considering that there's little time left, your payload (and business model) has severe constraints. Unless you have something pre-developed and nearly ready to launch (e.g. at a university), aim for something simple. That leaves you mostly with media attention (sponsors), technology demos (e.g. for third parties), paraphernalia/vanity items that wealthy individuals or communities pay for (no remains or religious art…
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>>(no remains or religious artifacts please) I can imagine some rich people would find it pretty cool to have an urn of their ashes left on the moon.
I think this is probably one of the most viable business models for a "CubeSat" sized payload. If I had a rocket to the moon, that is the first thing I would offer: "mix your human dust with moon dust"
A million dollars split between 2500 is just $400 each.
Obviously very rough figures but it nothing screams outrageous to me. I'd be surprised if you couldn't fill 2500 of those orders.
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I think this is probably one of the most viable business models for a "CubeSat" sized payload. If I had a rocket to the moon, that is the first thing I would offer: "mix your human dust with moon dust"
Figures above suggest somewhere in the million dollar mark for a kilo of payload. There are ashes into diamond services, and ballpark figures would be 5 one carat diamonds to a gram or 2500 for half a kilo. A million dollars split between 2500 is just $400 each. Obviously very rough figures but it nothing screams outrageous to me. I'd be surprised if you couldn't fill 2500 of those orders.
Only problem I see is that 0.5 carat cremation diamond is $6000 US, and it would be a "waste" of the ashes since they only use a few ounces (~150g) and a human cremated is roughly 5kg.
BUT, if a person is fine with only sending a portion of their loved one to the moon for the super "low price" of $20k, it would only take 75 to break even, but there is room for a WHOLE lot more.
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Figures above suggest somewhere in the million dollar mark for a kilo of payload. There are ashes into diamond services, and ballpark figures would be 5 one carat diamonds to a gram or 2500 for half a kilo. A million dollars split between 2500 is just $400 each. Obviously very rough figures but it nothing screams outrageous to me. I'd be surprised if you couldn't fill 2500 of those orders.
I love it! Only problem I see is that 0.5 carat cremation diamond is $6000 US, and it would be a "waste" of the ashes since they only use a few ounces (~150g) and a human cremated is roughly 5kg. BUT, if a person is fine with only sending a portion of their loved one to the moon for the super "low price" of $20k, it would only take 75 to break even, but there is room for a WHOLE lot more.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I know what people mean when they say "dark side of the moon" but it always bothers me. There is no "dark side" to the moon. The picture that got stuck in my head was seeing the moon transit the earth: http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2015/08/21/4296866.ht... Beautiful picture.
Its the side of the Moon that's dark when it faces the earth?
I think the biggest problem is radio communication !?
The biggest problem - maybe 90% of the task - is to get there. Then from the remainder the biggest problem - in terms of required mass - is radio communication (if you choose radio). At least that's what my analysis was giving me.