Germany: To the Moon (alice), to the moon?
by bobSP.
Although it will only be an unmanned mission, Germany says it will be ready to launch a spacecraft into orbit around the earth's moon by 2013.
The head of the German Space Program (the DLR) made the announcement to a financial newspaper in Germany.
"We want to show that Germany has the know-how," said the head after presenting the mission statement to the German parliament. By sending a ship to the moon, Germany hopes to increase its prestige and status in the world--it wants to enter the "Space Club," so to speak.
The mission will cost 396 million to 528 million dollars, but the head also says that it wont be just for kicks: the organization plans to conduct many scientific experiments during the course of the mission.
This isn't the first time Germany has made plans to go into space--Germany was actually the first nation to send an object out of the atmosphere when it tested it's long-range (and very deadly) V2 rocket during the 1940s (WWII).
Germany: To the Moon (alice), to the moon?
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