Cost Of Modern Day Moon Landing

[ASKDodge]

I'm having difficulty calculating the precise cost of the Moon Landing (The equipment, research and manpower) required to put a man on the moon, as per the first Apollo mission. NASA put the cost of the entirety of the Apollo program, revised for 2005, as $170 billion (Details here).

 

I was hoping someone could produce, or at least guess at, a total cost for a similar operation, using modern equipment and personnel for a launch in, say 2020. Would it be cheaper, given advances in materials science, communications technology and electronics?

 

My estimates, based on recent ESA, Russian and NASA missions to the ISS, put the cost in the region of $50-100 billion, but it is really only a step above a guess, given my lack of knowledge in this area.

 

Any help, information, opinion or vague insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

[Qfwfq]

Would it be cheaper, given advances in materials science, communications technology and electronics?

No doubt, especially considering it in terms of the leg between the current orbiting station and the moon. Once your LEM is assembled and parked there with an appropriate rocket stage, the remaining bit is simpler than the Apollo program and you can design it so you re-dock with the station on return. Sharing the part between ground and orbit with all the other activities is an economy of scale and a great splitting of risk. This should be considered in sending probes anywhere in the solar system, assembly in orbit can have advantages.

 

The real expense would be people going to Mars, a cost which I don't see justified. Perhaps the day will come for it, when things are rolling better down here.

[sigurdV]

No doubt, especially considering it in terms of the leg between the current orbiting station and the moon. Once your LEM is assembled and parked there with an appropriate rocket stage, the remaining bit is simpler than the Apollo program and you can design it so you re-dock with the station on return. Sharing the part between ground and orbit with all the other activities is an economy of scale and a great splitting of risk. This should be considered in sending probes anywhere in the solar system, assembly in orbit can have advantages.

 

The real expense would be people going to Mars, a cost which I don't see justified. Perhaps the day will come for it, when things are rolling better down here.

Perhaps its also the cost of lost lives to be considered, shieldimg the marstronauts against radiation... Wed better practise living in space closer to earth before going on long voyages.