New space race?

[Neeyik]

The moon has less gravity, but there is also no atmosphere either. Lifting off from the moon is would be a fraction of the cost than if the same was lifted from the earth. That's why moon operations are going to be critical for any future missions.

You're ignoring the cost of moving all launch operations to the Moon though; regardless of the lower gravity of our natural satellite, all the required materials, fuels and workers are still going to be shipped from Earth first.

 

[Rugor]

To be honest, I don't know how life arose. I have a general understanding of the standard model, and that's enough for me at the moment. Obviously the theories are changing as we learn more, especially since the whole purpose of the scientific method is to attempt to poke holes in theories. You keep the ones you can't prove are wrong, and change them if you discover they are.

In science, you start with observed facts, make up a hypothesis to explain them, then make predictions based on that hypothesis. Then you do experiments to test it. If it passes the experiments it moves on to a theory. So in order for something to be considered a theory, it has to have been used to make valid predictions.

Unfortunately, most people who use the phrase "only a theory" seem to think that a theory is an untested hypothesis, which isn't the case.

 

[Rugor]

The moon has less gravity, but there is also no atmosphere either. Lifting off from the moon is would be a fraction of the cost than if the same was lifted from the earth. That's why moon operations are going to be critical for any future missions.

You're ignoring the cost of moving all launch operations to the Moon though; regardless of the lower gravity of our natural satellite, all the required materials, fuels and workers are still going to be shipped from Earth first.

Actually, while the workers will have to come from earth, most of these plans revolve around using lunar resources. The moon appears to have have water in the form of ice, and there's a lot of aluminum in the lunar crust. Solar power can be used to to refine both, and there are plans for rocket propulsion systems fueled by a LOX/aluminum slurry that could be produced from lunar resources. It may not be the best rocket fuel, but the fact it's at the bottom of Luna's gravity well rather than Earth's would give it a huge advantage.