Lagrange Points

Thought this would be interested for people to see. The Constantine commission came out with a report that instead of going to Mars, we should be going to Lagrange points in order to get a better look at the rest of the universe and experience long-distance space travel.

Here they are. The points where the gravity of the earth and the sun cancel or combine to create gravity wells, points where the net effect of gravity is for all intents and purposes 0.

L2 is already being used for telescopes, and more are going to be headed that way. It is really the up and coming hot spot for detectors and telescopes and observation satellites of all kinds - because it uses the Earth to shield the instruments from the sun.

Other points would also be useful in terms of staging points and supply depots for future missions, new looks at our galaxy and solar system, and experience in long-distance travel without going all the way to Mars (and the cost of getting onto the ground in Mars, and then back up again - very difficult.)