Why is a new lunar rover going to take 11 years to go into production when technology is so much more advanced now and innovation is at a faster pace than ever?
Well for one we're not going to land on the moon for at least another 11 years. I think it will probably be more like 15. The lunar rover isn't the slow part. The slow part is the lack of funding. Right now they have to fund both the shuttle program and development of Constellation. In 1965 the GDP was $712 Billion with a NASA budget of a little more than $5 billion or about 0.7% In 2007 the GDP was about $13.8 Trillion with the NASA budget at about $17 billion, or about 0.12%. It's not the scientists and engineers, it's the politicians.
"History is a tool used by politicians to justify their intentions." -- Ted Koppel