Journey to the moon

Eloethan

And when valuable resources are found, the powerful nations will start fighting over them. Many more billions will be spent on even more sophisticated weapons to engage in space wars. Is there such a thing as a species being too intelligent for its own good?

Precisely. Having said that maybe it’s better to drill for stuff on the moon than under the Arctic or Antarctic ( that gives me nightmares). But the thought of looking up at the moon and knowing that man is making as big a mess of that as he has made of our own planet sickens me. Anyway, it belongs to The Clangers. They were there first…

For one- the funding
For two- the planning
For three- following the Challenger disaster and other set backs it has taken time for NASA to recover its reputation. They had to be completely sure they were confident they could send astronauts into space again and bring them home.
Mission accomplished- congratulations to all involved!

Sarnia

I am rather puzzled why it has taken over 50 years for the US to launch another rocket to the Moon. They were so pleased to have beaten the Russians tin the race to put a man on the Moon that I wonder why they did not capitalise on that.

Me too! What have they done in the meantime?

And when valuable resources are found, the powerful nations will start fighting over them. Many more billions will be spent on even more sophisticated weapons to engage in space wars. Is there such a thing as a species being too intelligent for its own good?

David49 - read my first two sentences - we agree!

Indiebee

What are the objectives? To see how humanity can exploit the moon and for the US to gain kudos.

I suspect we will always want to explore the universe out of curiosity and for scientific research but I wonder if having these as our objectives is a luxury we can’t afford.

I have mixed feelings as I acknowledge the benefits of research but I want us to care for our own planet first. We have already contributed ‘dirty’ and destructive space junk outside Earth, let alone within it.

So the Spanish explorers were financed by the king to go out of curiosity to the New World, no, they went to find gold and other precious metals
It's no different now we havnt advanced one iota, they are going to exploit what ever they can, there may well be incidental research and discoveries that takes place, that is not the prime objective.

Even Hawkins said space research is to try to find a new planet to live on and exploit its resources

What are the objectives? To see how humanity can exploit the moon and for the US to gain kudos.

I suspect we will always want to explore the universe out of curiosity and for scientific research but I wonder if having these as our objectives is a luxury we can’t afford.

I have mixed feelings as I acknowledge the benefits of research but I want us to care for our own planet first. We have already contributed ‘dirty’ and destructive space junk outside Earth, let alone within it.

Absolutely I do. So many advances in technology and medicine and knowledge in general come from space science.

Some Stone Agers would have complained about the inventor of the wheel wasting valuable resources on his project when he could have been out collecting nuts and berries.

Eloethan These are exactly my feelings Why on earth is anybody wasting all this money on a project that is so unnecessary? Leave the outside world alone and let’s get on with trying to mend the one we are ruining using all this ‘excess’ money

Unfortunate timing with their country being at war but the pictures of the earth were wonderful . What a strange country it is - such a mixture of courage and insanity.

It saddens and infuriates me in equal measure to see billions of pounds being wasted when we have a beautiful planet that is on the road to ruin because of the way it has been treated. That includes all the people and animals whose homes have been lost and who suffer hunger and disease because they are not considered a priority.

Allsorts

People with curiosity and intelligence and a sense of adventure will always want to push boundries to see what is out there. I think the crews on these journeys into space are so dedicated and brave, a lot have died within minutes of take off. When you think how much it costs and the good that could be done with the money, it does make you think again but in reality it would not be given to good causes and we do learn a lot. It would be my idea of hell going through the years of training to eventually cooped up in that rocket. I love to watch it on tv.

I totally agree. I watched the launch on Sky News. And l was totally in awe of the safe lift off. I had my fingers crossed that it all go well.

It did and still is When you think of it. It is a massive achievement to even get that rocket, that size off the ground.

This is from someone who is old enough to remember all the Space Race stuff from the Sixties.

I hope they have a successful mission and get back to Mother Earth as planned.

Well Done
NASA
👍🌗🚀🇺🇸🌎👏👏🥠

BlueBelle

Only if the put Trump onboard and steer it to not return

Seriously I think space travel is totally unnecessary what do we want… to go and kill another planter

Spin-off Technologies in Daily Life
Thousands of technologies originally developed for the rigors of space have been adapted for commercial and personal use.

Health & Medicine: Space research led to the development of Digital Imaging (MRI and CAT scans), Ear Thermometers, Scratch-resistant Lenses, and Implantable Heart Monitors.
Consumer Goods: Everyday items like Memory Foam (originally for crash protection), Cordless Tools (developed for Apollo moon walks), and Enriched Baby Food were direct results of space exploration.
Safety: Modern Smoke Detectors, Water Purification Systems, and Global Search-and-Rescue Systems all trace their roots to NASA and other space agency innovations.

There may have been many spin off from the space programme but the progress of space travel has not advanced much in 50 yrs. The technology we know now is not likely to advance much until we have commercial Fusion power actually producing unlimited energy.

Hawkins's theoretical goal should be seen in terms of us exhausting resources before we have found another place to live. If there was a smaller population on earth resources would last longer, potentially, with recycling perpetually that is a goal that costs nothing to achieve, just the will to have less children

.

There's over 100 BILLION planets in our galaxy alone that are bigger than earth. In fact there's nearly 300 BILLION.

How fortunate you are to know that this is the best one!!
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wasting everything
fuel,pollution is how climate horror things became
our world.
space race is because they dont want china to get
the checker flag

Humans are destroying Earth. I don’t see the point in spreading our destructive nature throughout the universe. A species as primitive and violent as we are, who cannot manage basic co-existence with each other and other life on Earth, will be a plague to new worlds. Plus, the fuel demands for space travel will only further degrade our planet. Resources would be put to better use solving issues here.

If populating the moon does come about, wonder how long it will take for nations to start a war over who owns what on it.

Me too…..brave people !!

Aveline

I think it's just daft. Just because we can, should we?

If everybody had felt like that we would never have progressed as a civilisation, we might still be in the Stone Age.
I do take the point others have made that we need to sort out our own planet but I thought one of the main reasons to investigate the moon and the chance of landing again and even setting up any kind of settlement is to beat the Chinese to doing so and then claiming dominance.

Kate1949

Oh Maybee how I agree. Let's sort this planet out before we go exploring another one. I do realise my views are those of an oldie.

Not necessarily. I wrote a poem questioning the value of space exploration when I was 17.

With the US leader causing such turmoil around the world, causing fuel shortages and price increases I personally find it morally wrong to be spending $$$ to go into space. That money is needed elsewhere and so is the fuel. The world is pretty messed up at the moment I think it needs work before we go looking at the moon and space.

I'm with Bluebelle- haven't we littered up this planet enough without littering space too?

I think there's far more important things to spend money and fuel on. But I could maybe get a little excited about it, unfortunately I can't be excited about anything coming from the US right now.
But there are priorities, and right now this really isn't one.