Scroll down to read this post.

 

Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. I keep the website clean from pop-ups and annoying demands. Instead, I depend entirely on my readers to support me. Though this means I am sacrificing some income, it also means that I remain entirely independent from outside pressure. By depending solely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, no one can threaten me with censorship. You don't like what I write, you can simply go elsewhere.

 

You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are five ways of doing so:

 

1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.

 

2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
 

3. A Paypal Donation:

4. A Paypal subscription:


5. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
 
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652

 

You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above. And if you buy the books through the ebookit links, I get a larger cut and I get it sooner.


JAXA proposes Japan send humans to the Moon

The new colonial movement: Japan’s space agency JAXA has proposed that Japan participate in a lunar manned mission to be flown by the 2030s.

The report is very vague. It suggests that Japan create such a mission, but also do it as part of a larger international effort, which presently doesn’t even exist.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

4 comments

  • LocalFluff

    I proposed to go to the Moon myself! Did you miss that announcement? Damn! And I didn’t even caught a tax yen for it. Better luck next lie.
    (Did I say the Moon? I meant Andromeda)

  • ken anthony

    By 2030 japan will just buy a ticket.

  • Dick Eagleson

    ken,

    Quite possibly. The suspense will be whether they go via SpaceX or Blue Origin.

    At this point, the Japanese are talking about getting their people to NASA’s just-proposed cis-lunar gateway space station as a jumping-off point from which to go down to the lunar surface. I suspect:

    (1) that said gateway will never be built by NASA, though it may be built by some private operator, but not necessarily where NASA intends to put it.

    (2) that the entire trip will be made on commercially provided hardware and that the lunar surface destination will be a mainly – perhaps even a wholly – commercial affair.

    I also suspect that the real reason for this sudden Japanese interest in the Moon has more to do with China’s announced plans to put their own people on the lunar surface by 2036 than anything else. I think the Japanese want to steal a march on the Chinese and be the first Asian nation to have its nationals set foot on Luna.

  • LocalFluff

    Dick,
    “I think the Japanese want to steal a march on the Chinese and be the first Asian nation to have its nationals set foot on Luna.”

    Oh, they are very far from that. Completely noncompetitive launchers. Tiny experiences of human space flight. And China will bring a sample home from the Moon this year already!

    When JAXA, ESA, Roscosmos talks, I admire their enthusiasm, but words without action never to heaven go, to paraphrase Shakespeare and look educated.

Readers: the rules for commenting!

 

No registration is required. I welcome all opinions, even those that strongly criticize my commentary.

 

However, name-calling and obscenities will not be tolerated. First time offenders who are new to the site will be warned. Second time offenders or first time offenders who have been here awhile will be suspended for a week. After that, I will ban you. Period.

 

Note also that first time commenters as well as any comment with more than one link will be placed in moderation for my approval. Be patient, I will get to it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *