# I want to walk on the moon **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 23, 2009, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-walk-on-the-moon/507413 "2009-08-23T19:52:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![yo\_han\_go](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yo_han_go/32/130_2.png) [@yo\_han\_go](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yo_han_go)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-walk-on-the-moon/507413/1 "2009-08-23T19:52:05Z")
I Have 1 billion legal bucks in bank, I have nothing better to do, I am healthy. I am bored. I want to walk on the moon. And I need some help with logistics. šŸ™‚ Ok. On short. How rich one should be and what else would be needed for common man to walk on the moon? I do prefer engeenering type answers. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-walk-on-the-moon/507413/2 "2009-08-23T20:02:22Z")
I seem to recall the Russians having said they could do it for a 100 million US dollars give or take. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-walk-on-the-moon/507413/3 "2009-08-23T20:11:02Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > I seem to recall the Russians having said they could do it for a 100 million US dollars give or take. That seems low. Does it include a return trip? It would be nice to show your slides to other folks, after all. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-walk-on-the-moon/507413/4 "2009-08-23T20:12:47Z")
Given enough money I donā€™t see why you couldnā€™t do it yourself. But it would cost a Godawful furtune; Iā€™m not sure a billion dollars is enough to replicate Apollo, even adding on modern improvements. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-walk-on-the-moon/507413/5 "2009-08-23T20:15:08Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > I seem to recall the Russians having said they could do it for a 100 million US dollars give or take. A [2005 CNN article](http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/10/news/funny/moontrip/index.htm) says the $100 million figure is for a no-orbit fly-by. Landing, it says, would cost ā€˜significantly moreā€™. Apollo cost about $25.4 billion, and there were 17 flights (including unmanned ones, and Apollo I, which didnā€™t actually fly). That works out to about $1.5 billion per mission. Since we no longer have the hardware to land on the Moon, and new spacecraft will not only have to be built but also tested in a similar way to Apollo, I think the costs would be similar. But I donā€™t know if the $25 billion figure is in 1960s dollars or current dollars. ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-walk-on-the-moon/507413/6 "2009-08-23T20:18:49Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Given enough money I donā€™t see why you couldnā€™t do it yourself. But it would cost a Godawful furtune; Iā€™m not sure a billion dollars is enough to replicate Apollo, even adding on modern improvements. I bet the amount of money you could save if you were willing to cut the probability of success from a percent in the 90ā€™s to, say, 75% would be considerable. A lot of the cost of Apollo was in research and testing, as Johnny LA said, youā€™d still have to do testing, but nowhere near the level that was done for Apollo I donā€™t think. You certainly wouldnā€™t have to start from scratch. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-walk-on-the-moon/507413/7 "2009-08-23T20:19:16Z")
Getting you there is one thing, getting you to the surface and then back up is something else entirely, and involves technologies only the US has successfully implemented (so far), and that cost (in current dollars) many billions to create. Given that the US is very unlikely to indulge your desire regardless of your means your billion dollars isnā€™t going to do much. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-walk-on-the-moon/507413/8 "2009-08-23T20:23:31Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > That seems low. Does it include a return trip? It would be nice to show your slides to other folks, after all. No, I specifically remember its a one way trip :rolleyes: Now that others mention it, it a 100 million for flyby. ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-walk-on-the-moon/507413/9 "2009-08-23T20:32:46Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Given that the US is very unlikely to indulge your desire regardless of your means your billion dollars isnā€™t going to do much. Maybe not, but if youā€™re start flashing money at NASA that starts amounting over a billion dollars, I think they might be willing to work with you, provided they get to come along and do their own things they want to do on the moon. 2 billion would probably perk their interest a little more. I think NASA budget last year was around 16 billion total and thatā€™s stretched over a lot of ground. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-walk-on-the-moon/507413/10 "2009-08-23T20:37:36Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > No, I specifically remember its a one way trip :rolleyes: > > Now that others mention it, it a 100 million for flyby. Now that I think about itā€¦if you can do a flyby for a cool 100 mil, then a landing or two (first oneā€™s a test) for a billion or so seems doableā€¦particularly if you are smart, creative and willing to take some riskā€¦all of which I give the Russians more credit for than Americansā€¦and I am a flag waving American. ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-walk-on-the-moon/507413/11 "2009-08-23T21:43:30Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Now that I think about itā€¦if you can do a flyby for a cool 100 mil, then a landing or two (first oneā€™s a test) for a billion or so seems doableā€¦particularly if you are smart, creative and willing to take some riskā€¦ The flyby mission, also known as ā€œ[free return trajectory](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_return_trajectory)ā€, is basically an Earth orbit mission with a very high apogee. It probably could be done relatively cheaply by adding just one more additional stage and external boosters to rocket & capsule designs in current use by the Russians. To actually enter lunar orbit, and visit the surface, you have to add a LOT more lift mass. You need to lift all the extra mass of the rockets and fuel necessary to: [ul] [li]accelerate to free return trajectory [/li][li]decelerate into lunar orbit[/li][li]descend to the lunar surface[/li][li]ascend from the surface[/li][li]break lunar orbit and return to Earth[/li][/ul] Each of those needs to be beefy enough to not only carry its own step of the mission, but be able to carry the hardware & fuel of some or all of the later stages. Iā€™m probably leaving out some other essential things. That doesnā€™t even cover designing and testing all that essentially new hardware, and a new main booster that can lift it all, since the Apollo designs canā€™t be reused. (No one makes the 1960s off-the-shelf components anymore) You ainā€™t gonna do it for just 1 billion USD and I suspect the final bill will be more than 100 billion in todayā€™s dollars. \*\*\* Ponder ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-walk-on-the-moon/507413/12 "2009-08-23T21:49:39Z")
In case the OP makes it: I hope his legs donā€™t break, walking on the Moon. ---
**Author:** ![vinniepaz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b4bc9f/32.png) [@vinniepaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vinniepaz)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-walk-on-the-moon/507413/13 "2009-08-23T22:05:34Z")
I read in a Bill Bryson book that the original engineering plans to land on the moon donā€™t even exist anymore. Aggravatingly, he just mentioned offhand that they were destroyed and moved on. Does anyone have any idea why this would be? Why would they destroy knowledge? even if the parts arenā€™t made off the shelf anymore, surely the plans would at least be useful guides to re-engineering. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-walk-on-the-moon/507413/14 "2009-08-23T22:18:13Z")
> [@Ponderoid](#): > > [ul] > [li]accelerate to free return trajectory [/li][li]decelerate into lunar orbit[/li][li]descend to the lunar surface[/li][li]ascend from the surface[/li][li]break lunar orbit and return to Earth[/li][/ul] Youā€™ve added roughly more 5 hard to do stagesā€¦Iā€™ve added a factor of 5 to 10 to the the total costā€¦and the caveat of doing it smartly (not quickly or low risk or new tech for that matter (which Apollo had to deal with))ā€¦ Iff I had a few hundred million to a billion to burn, I would investigate the concept of ā€œbig dumb boostersā€ā€¦most of the cost of big space projects, particularly one that go beyond low earth orbit involve just getting cheap ass stuff like fuel or food into orbit. Who cares if your rocket is 400 feet high or blowes up half the time when all you are putting up there is fuel or MREā€™s ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-walk-on-the-moon/507413/15 "2009-08-23T22:23:41Z")
> [@vinniepaz](#): > > I read in a Bill Bryson book that the original engineering plans to land on the moon donā€™t even exist anymore. Aggravatingly, he just mentioned offhand that they were destroyed and moved on. Does anyone have any idea why this would be? Why would they destroy knowledge? even if the parts arenā€™t made off the shelf anymore, surely the plans would at least be useful guides to re-engineering. The Saturn V blueprints are in storage at Marshall Space Flight Center on microfilm. I donā€™t know about the LM. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-walk-on-the-moon/507413/16 "2009-08-24T00:44:31Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > In case the OP makes it: I hope his legs donā€™t break, walking on the Moon. Some say heā€™s wishing his days away. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-walk-on-the-moon/507413/17 "2009-08-24T03:07:55Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > No, I specifically remember its a one way trip :rolleyes: > > Now that others mention it, it a 100 million for flyby. Hey, I worked for a defense contractor for a while; you gotta read all the provisions in the contract. One of our guys had a cartoon in his cube showing William Tell with a bow and an arrow long enough to reach over to where his kid is waiting. Two guys are perusing a scroll. ā€œTwenty-five paces check. Apple on sonā€™s head; check. Nope, nothing in the spec about length of arrow.ā€ ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-walk-on-the-moon/507413/18 "2009-08-24T03:22:26Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > That seems low. Does it include a return trip? It would be nice to show your slides to other folks, after all. The contract says that you will be able to show your slides to other folks. Doesnā€™t say anything about a return trip though. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-walk-on-the-moon/507413/19 "2009-08-24T04:20:46Z")
> [@Ponderoid](#): > > You ainā€™t gonna do it for just 1 billion ā€¦ Agreed. Even if all the Apollo technology were readily at hand with no development necessary at all, the incremental cost of a moon trip would easily exceed a billion of todayā€™s dollars. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6bbea6/32.png) [@The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Seventh_Deadly_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-walk-on-the-moon/507413/20 "2009-08-24T05:06:42Z")
Maybe you could use whatever power enabled you to put a billion dollars of non-ill-gotten cash into your account to also create a piece of technology that will carry you to the moon. I donā€™t know exactly what this would look like, but Iā€™ll bet you anything itā€™ll be made of unobtainium. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-walk-on-the-moon/507413.md?page=2)