Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Unfortunately, all the knowledge which was gained in the early years of Moon landings has now disappeared and been forgotten. Many of the old guard have now long since retired or worse. (gone to the Great Planet in the sky.)
NASA are trying to leapfrog that forgotten stuff and send men & women to the Moon. We have to ask ourselves if a more cautious approach to find out if the old wisdom and knowledge still works, may not be the better way forward.
Unless, of course, we have secretly been doing trips to the Moon and have a Moon Base there already. In which case, NASA still know all about the ups and downs of Moon travel.
Old knowledge like how to make vaccuum tubes perhaps. We've lost nothing important. It's just not a budget priority to do so.
China is doing most of that out of national pride and rah-rah-rah for the masses.
If the US lands men on the moon (again) it's like....oh, we did that 50 years ago, so what.
China was busy back then recovering from\enduring the awful post war era of being brutalized by Japan for a decade and then Mao's madness.
I'm curious how you define a successful space program. Clearly not one that has landed humans on the Moon or sent space probes to every planet in the system.
OK, but what is the true motivation for doing that over making the country more peaceful, successful and prosperous?
Old knowledge like how to make vaccuum tubes perhaps. We've lost nothing important. It's just not a budget priority to do so.
China is doing most of that out of national pride and rah-rah-rah for the masses.
If the US lands men on the moon (again) it's like....oh, we did that 50 years ago, so what.
China was busy back then recovering from\enduring the awful post war era of being brutalized by Japan for a decade and then Mao's madness.
I agree that technology has moved on, however, there were many who had experience of space flight and in particular, Moon flights and the particular problems associated with that. No-one has gone to the Moon since the Apollo era and so there is much theory but very little practical knowledge. Just like we accept that experience is useful in this life, so we should acknowledge that experience of a particular lunar nature will help future exploration.
It is so easy to dismiss the Moon landings as something that was done 'because it was there', but actually there is still a lot of science which can be done on the Moon and which cannot be done using Mars as a substitute.
It is also easy to point to financial constraints as the reason for the pause in the lunar space exploration program, but we have to bear in mind that the finances were spent on Mars exploration instead.
Why? What was wrong with continuing with exploring the Moon? It would have been easier and cheaper to send rovers and robots to the Moon than Mars and saying 'been there done that' is not a scientifically valid reason for ignoring the Moon.
So, looking to you Mathguy for some explanation please.
I agree that technology has moved on, however, there were many who had experience of space flight and in particular, Moon flights and the particular problems associated with that. No-one has gone to the Moon since the Apollo era and so there is much theory but very little practical knowledge. Just like we accept that experience is useful in this life, so we should acknowledge that experience of a particular lunar nature will help future exploration.
It is so easy to dismiss the Moon landings as something that was done 'because it was there', but actually there is still a lot of science which can be done on the Moon and which cannot be done using Mars as a substitute.
It is also easy to point to financial constraints as the reason for the pause in the lunar space exploration program, but we have to bear in mind that the finances were spent on Mars exploration instead.
Why? What was wrong with continuing with exploring the Moon? It would have been easier and cheaper to send rovers and robots to the Moon than Mars and saying 'been there done that' is not a scientifically valid reason for ignoring the Moon.
While my own view is that no one is going anywhere - moon or mars - I feel like someone should challenge your notion that there is work that can only be done on the moon. So far, I don't believe that is a fact.
My belief is, we'll never live on the moon and never even visit mars. Sending rovers and collecting samples is a great idea, but people?...... No. There is nothing to be done in space that machines cannot do.
While my own view is that no one is going anywhere - moon or mars - I feel like someone should challenge your notion that there is work that can only be done on the moon. So far, I don't believe that is a fact.
My belief is, we'll never live on the moon and never even visit mars. Sending rovers and collecting samples is a great idea, but people?...... No. There is nothing to be done in space that machines cannot do.
I think I am correct in saying there are rilles on the Moon which I believe are interesting to scientists and also there is the theory of the Electric Universe which suggests that giant bolts of lightning carve some of the features on the Moon (and Mars). Some of the lunar features certainly look like they may have been zapped with a huge Tesla coil and cannot be explained away as an ancient river course. Investigating the Moon would shed more light on our own Earths past since there are conflicting theories as to where the Moon appeared from and how it got to that spot. Some say that it was formed around the same time as the Earth and some say older. No-one really knows why the Moon is Tide-locked to our Earth, so that could be investigated too.
I dont think we will end up putting men on the Moon in a permanent Moon Base either because NASA has already said it intends to create a space station The Galaxy and take short trips down to the lunar surface. I feel the reason (whatever that was) why we gave up going to the Moon, still exists all these years later.
.......... I feel the reason (whatever that was) why we gave up going to the Moon, still exists all these years later.......
Good comments in your post.
The problem is moon dust. Well, that and the fact there is no atmosphere.
Moon dust is terribly toxic. It is sharp-edged, clingy and gets into everything. The astronauts who fought it in the past observed it simply cannot be fought off. It destroys everything. It is not like earth dust at all and moving around kicks up huge amounts.
The dust is very fine, abrasive and sharp, like tiny pieces of glass, making it more of a dangerous threat than just a simple nuisance. Fifty years later, the challenges of dust are greater for long-term exploration and sustainability on the Moon, as well as future human exploration of Mars.
My own personal opinion is, NASA and others are playing with themselves and with government money. They are naming programs, selected astronauts, and inventing theories. But they are not actually going anywhere....
This video is lengthy, but very informative. You may want to bookmark it for later viewing.
Future Moon bases may be a bit tidier thanks to an electric shield that protects equipment from destructive lunar dust. NASA's Electrodynamic Dust Shield (EDS) technology promises to tame the destructive dust that clings to equipment.
Maybe if we humans really, really had to go to the moon these problems would be conquered.
It may actually take a human death on the moon before countries give up, but I think they will give up. Drones and robots can do almost everything I ever heard of. That's the subject here, actually - China is sending a device that will pick up a few rocks and come home.
Learning how to pick up a few rocks successfully is the start of mining which is what they all want to do, partly because of resources which are plentiful out there and partly because of the money.
We have not factored in the possibility of other people wanting to get in on the act as well which of course means they/we will defend something we see as a resource and which they/we have spent time and effort and money chasing.
Maybe if we humans really, really had to go to the moon these problems would be conquered.
It may actually take a human death on the moon before countries give up, but I think they will give up. Drones and robots can do almost everything I ever heard of. That's the subject here, actually - China is sending a device that will pick up a few rocks and come home.
Astronauts have already died during space flights prior to reaching the Moon (and afterward), so that hasn't been a show stopper. What usually happens instead is a break to address the engineering issues identified.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
