Thankgod! Now the whole USA might come to its senses and join the rest of the world!
When NASA returns astronauts to the Moon, the mission will be measured kilometers, not miles.
The agency has decided to use metric units for all operations on the lunar surface, according to a statement released today.
The change will standardize parts and tools. It means Russian wrenches could be used to fix an air leak in a U.S.-built habitat. It will also make communications easier, such as when determining how far to send a rover for a science project.
NASA has ostensibly used the metric system since about 1990, the statement said, but English units are still employed on some missions, and a few projects use both. NASA uses both English and metric aboard the International Space Station.
The dual strategy led to the loss of the Mars Climate Orbiter robotic probe in 1999; a contractor provided thruster firing data in English units while NASA was calculating in metric.
The decision comes after a series of meetings between NASA and 13 other space agencies around the world, where metric measurements rule.
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