From now (2007-01-08) the moon is metric and the radius measures 1,737.4 kilometers, the mass is 7.35E19 metric tons and the density is about 3.34 grams per cubic centimeter roughly 60 percent of Earth’s density.
NASA will return to Moon by 2020 and plans a manned lunar outpost with kilometeters instead of miles.
The decision is a victory not only for the metric system itself, which by this decision increases its land area in the solar system by 27%, but also for the spirit of international cooperation in exploring the Moon.
The decision arose from a series of meetings that brought together representatives from NASA and 13 other space agencies to discuss ways to cooperate and coordinate their lunar exploration programs. Standardizing on the metric system was an obvious step in the right direction.
Isn’t that more futuristic: NASA will even bring the Internet Protocol (IP) to the moon? Listen!
Picture credit: University of Iowa Robotic Telescope Facilities
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