10 September 2005
Media - General (Good)
Gaia Selene
Makes case for lunar development
by Patrick Collins
The DVD "Gaia Selene: ...saving the Earth by colonising the Moon" by Screenwriter and Producer Charles Proser makes an unanswerable case that investing in developing space-faring capabilities such as large-scale solar energy and wireless power transmission, helium 3 collection and utilisation, and the use of other non-terrestrial resources including near-Earth asteroids and comets would pay a good return in the longer run.

A series of experts including Martin Hoffert, Alan Binder, David Criswell and others explain that the technology is well understood - not least due to the last 30 years' of research and conceptual work. Among other arguments, the DVD makes the case that for example Professor Richard Smalley (see http://smalley.rice.edu ) and the Apollo Alliance ( www.apolloalliance.org ) make - that Americans would benefit greatly by investing in developing the capabilities needed to become independent of fossil fuels in general, and particularly of imported oil, which imposes so many costs on the USA.

Gaia Selene makes good use of the capabilities of DVD to assemble a range of information including a basic narrative, as well as a pretty slide show of possibilities for future lunar development. As one of the participants, Space Future's Patrick Collins argues that space tourism in particular is likely to be the major route via which commercial investment will actually be raised. The sad truth is that government space agencies have no interest in these activities which depend on low-cost launch systems, the development of which seems increasingly likely to be led by companies developing passenger vehicles.

The DVD "Gaia Selene: ...saving the Earth by colonising the Moon" can be purchased at www.gaiaselene.com--where there is also a range of related information and links.
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Patrick Collins 10 September 2005
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