Gotta LOVE this idea I came up with a few years ago.

First of all, the earth's atmosphere and human radio chatter is drowning out ETI. This is a given.

Second, we need a bigger telescope.

Third, Arecibo is aging fast.

What do we do about it?

Getting it out of the atmosphere and into a dark radio spot isn't hard, we did it back in 1969 when we sent three Primates to the moon to plant a flag and collect rocks. We have some rocket capability, and we can do it again.

Using simple technology and a few spaceships, take some aluminum stock, a couple of hacksaws, and other assorted tools to the moon, put a small base there about a hundred miles onto the far side of the moon, and turn on a radio to listen in to ET. We built a radio telescope in Arecibo, in a volcano, way up in a mountain... there are craters everywhere on the moon just waiting for science to have its way with them.

Once the base is built and the radio is working, run a cable or fiber optic to the near side of the moon to a radio transmitter and beam the information to Earth.

Result: Radio telescope is built that is HUMONGOUS, sensitive, and in the darkest radio spot we can reach.

I see a few small problems here.

1. US government just cancelled the George Bush "return to the moon" plan.

2. US government cancelled the heavy lift rocket.

3. US government cancelled the light lift rocket for carrying people into earth orbit.

So really, Americans aren't going anywhere near space for the foreseeable future, let alone the dark side of the moon. And the Russians barely have the money to keep their small rockets flying. Who know, maybe China will come to the rescue and build it.

But i do agree, the idea is good!

John.

---

Heavy lift is back on...

"A Senate committee vote this afternoon should keep the Space Shuttle Program alive for at least one more mission and grant NASA the leeway it wants to continue developing a heavy-lift rocket capable of carrying crews into deep space. The Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee unanimously approved the authorization bill earlier this afternoon, sending it up to the full Senate for review sometime in the near future.

NASA already had two more shuttle flights scheduled -- one in November of this year, one in February 2011. The authorization bill calls for one more run to the ISS sometime after the February flight, and calls for the immediate resumption of work on a heavy-lift rocket with a revised goal of sending a mission to an asteroid as soon as 2016 rather than 2025 as outlined in President Obama's space exploration plan unveiled earlier this year.


Related Articles
Senate Bill Proposes Extending The Shuttle Program By Another Two Years
New Obama Budget Reported to Axe Constellation, Future Moon Missions
Senate Bill Defies Obama's NASA Plans, Restores Constellation and Adds Extra Shuttle Flight

Tags
Technology, Clay Dillow, constellation, heavy-lift rockets, nasa, Obama, Space, spaceflightThe Senate bill could be viewed as somewhat defiant of the President's wishes, though in some ways it brings the agency's goals and Obama's plan into congruence. For instance, the President and Congress both supported an initiative to extend the ISS program through at least 2020, and the extra shuttle flight was necessary to ensure the station will be finished and fully stocked with supplies before the shuttle fleet retires.

But the resumption of Constellation-like activities -- a heavy lift rocket, revised goals for deep space missions, etc. -- are something of a coup for legislators from states in the space game, places like Texas, Florida, and Alabama.

The extra shuttle mission will likely fly aboard Atlantis and carry a fresh four-person crew in summer of 2011. The authorization bill also allocates $1.6 billion in funds for commercial space development over the next three years."

---

Official Abuser of Boinc Buttons...
And no good credit hound!

There is another radiotelescope searching ETI, the Allen Telescope Array with its 42 dishes but hoping to arrive at 350 dishes, See www.setiquest.org.
Tullio

---