Did we go to the moon?

[Cotuit]

And these days, there is much less interest in science and math having been replaced by sports and tabloidism.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

We just need a good sex scandal on the moon and people will eat it up.

To put the cost into perspective. 

The Apollo Program cost $24 Billion in today's money.  Much of the cost came from doing something that has never been done before.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Boston's Big Dig cost $14something Billion.

[josita]

This came out in USA Today, today!

Energy source from the moon?

I still have doubts that we ever went .. it's really not 'just a rock' and probably has some valuable resources.

[zed]

I don't understand the argument that "the US space program didn't have the technical ability to land on the Moon". Unless you assume the detailed pictures of the Earth and Moon taken by the Apollo capsules are fake, you have to at least admit NASA had the capability to orbit the Moon. In which case, dropping off a lander and firing a few retro-rockets is sufficient to achieve a landing. By the 1960s NASA was sending probes all over the Solar System, most of which were successful. Unless those were fakes too. And the radio signals they still send today are faked..

In summary: I've seen no evidence to doubt NASA's achievement on the Moon and there is plenty of evidence the technical capability existed then.

As for why we did not go back to the Moon: how about expected poor return on investment? NASA spent billions on developing giant rockets, orbiting vehicles, and esoteric engineering to send a handful of people to the Moon and bring back a few rocks. So what's next? Doing something useful on the Moon? Like mining or setting up a colony? Well how many space vehicles and how much energy would be needed to ensure the viability of such an enterprise? A mining operation on the Moon would need all of the equipment built on Earth, launched into orbit, transferred to the Moon and then landed on the Moon. Some number of people would need to be involved, all of whom need ships and provisions. Anyway, you get the idea. A massive amount of investment in energy and money will be needed before any hope of a return. And these resources could be used for other projects on Earth with a much more likely positive outcome.

I personally don't see anything useful being done in space EVER. The lunar landing was a great technical achivement of mankind but a resource boondoggle. The amount of resources needed to realize a postive return on investment in space are truly astronomical. Unless we discover and harness a more powerful energy source than fossil fuels, there is no hope for those costs being overcome. Nuclear fusion is a possibility but I'm not optimistic fusion reactors (if developed) will be any better than today's fission reactors.

[bthomas]

My grandfather actually helped design and actually worked on Rockets that went to the moon. As a kid I would play with the models and he'd chew me out. We have some patches and cuff links that were taken up to the moon and were with the astronauts as they did their moon walks and then given to some of the workers that were instrumental in getting them there.

[MathNerd05]

Some more trivia: Anyone know what Neil Armstrong does today?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

He's a farmer in Iowa.

[MathNerd05]

I don't really doubt that we went to the moon. The long-term risks are just too great to fake something like that. I am glad to see the space programs moving from the public to the private sectors though. I think it would be fantastic to visit a station on the moon. Even better would be to take a moon-walk. How cool is that?

I do think the moon is just a big rock, though. I'll be surprised if we find valuable resources there.

[Spartan]

I read somewhere that there is alot of deuterium on the moon, that is, hydrogen with a neutron. Somehow this is useful for fusion. So once we figure fusion out, the moon could be a good source.

[paulblackgsx]

Don't worry, they'll find a commerical use for the moon. Even if it's just a storage place for trash. There will be a commerical use for it.

[MathNerd05]

Is it Deuterium or Tritium that is useful for fusion?

[monsoon]

[Cotuit]

The moon will make for a good base when we get it together to mine the asteroids. That's where all the good stuff is.

[Spartan]

Don't worry, they'll find a commerical use for the moon.  Even if it's just a storage place for trash.  There will be a commerical use for it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think that they would just rocket it into space rather than dirty up the moon Why go to all the trouble to land that sucker if it isnt going to do anything?