Should We Go Back To The Moon?
With the latest findings from NASA that there is water on the moon, is it now appropriate to revisit the lunar surface with manned missions? A number of possibilities exist, the obvious one being a permanent space station on the surface of another world to see how viable extra-terrestrial colonisation could be sustained. This would clearly lead if successful to colonising a planet similar to our own such as Mars.
With the existing technology we have at the moment would manned missions be easier than they were forty years ago. Those boffins at NASA had major obstacles to overcome in a very specific time frame set out by the then President Kennedy of putting a man on the moon before the decade was out. These being:-
1. Getting men in to near earth orbit and keeping them there for a set time to see if work in a zero g environment was possible.
2. Extra Vehicle Activity namely space walking
3. Docking with another craft in space
4. Escaping earth orbit then firing objects into lunar orbit.
5. Disengaging a craft from the command module and then rendezvous again.
6. Finally landing a craft on the lunar surface and launching the LEM back to the Command Module.
All of the above was achieved within ten years of the challenged being issued in May 1961. But this endeavour had to be more fluid than just getting a man to the moon; the Americans were in a race against the Soviet Union. Apollo 8 was never meant to go to the moon, that was intended for a later mission, but just before Apollo 8 was due to be launched the Russians launched a satellite and put into lunar orbit. So NASA’s next move had to be better than the Soviets last move. So that Christmas for Jim Lovell and Co. was spent doing laps around the moon. It was like an inter-stellar game of chess going on between the super powers in the cold war era. But the Americans won that game and sent twelve men to the lunar surface and got them all back safely to the Earth.
But I think the question should really be why shouldn’t we go back to the moon? There is nothing to stop us, there is no political incentive or sabre rattling, that needs to be satisfied in the post cold war age. There is the financial question as to viability of such a scheme. But with cooperation on a global scale there is not limit to what can be imagined and then realised.
When Columbus reached the new world that wasn’t the end of voyages of discovery it just opened another chapter in the story. If manned missions had continued a lot longer we would have a greater understanding of the universe its make up and how better to preserve it.
The only obstacle we have is the inability to imagine what is possible. Let us not forget that Victorian science fiction is now scientific fact. Jules Verne fantasized about getting men to the moon, and it is this type of creative thinking that has made space travel possible. It is a progressive pattern that started with the ability to create fire, making weapons for hunting etc. Starting with little baby steps got us out of the trees with the logical ending of travelling beyond the confines of our own planet and getting to the moon. The answer to the title in this transmission is a clear and unequivocal yes.
With the latest findings from NASA that there is water on the moon, is it now appropriate to revisit the lunar surface with manned missions? A number of possibilities exist, the obvious one being a permanent space station on the surface of another world to see how viable extra-terrestrial colonisation could be sustained. This would clearly lead if successful to colonising a planet similar to our own such as Mars.
With the existing technology we have at the moment would manned missions be easier than they were forty years ago. Those boffins at NASA had major obstacles to overcome in a very specific time frame set out by the then President Kennedy of putting a man on the moon before the decade was out. These being:-
1. Getting men in to near earth orbit and keeping them there for a set time to see if work in a zero g environment was possible.
2. Extra Vehicle Activity namely space walking
3. Docking with another craft in space
4. Escaping earth orbit then firing objects into lunar orbit.
5. Disengaging a craft from the command module and then rendezvous again.
6. Finally landing a craft on the lunar surface and launching the LEM back to the Command Module.
All of the above was achieved within ten years of the challenged being issued in May 1961. But this endeavour had to be more fluid than just getting a man to the moon; the Americans were in a race against the Soviet Union. Apollo 8 was never meant to go to the moon, that was intended for a later mission, but just before Apollo 8 was due to be launched the Russians launched a satellite and put into lunar orbit. So NASA’s next move had to be better than the Soviets last move. So that Christmas for Jim Lovell and Co. was spent doing laps around the moon. It was like an inter-stellar game of chess going on between the super powers in the cold war era. But the Americans won that game and sent twelve men to the lunar surface and got them all back safely to the Earth.
But I think the question should really be why shouldn’t we go back to the moon? There is nothing to stop us, there is no political incentive or sabre rattling, that needs to be satisfied in the post cold war age. There is the financial question as to viability of such a scheme. But with cooperation on a global scale there is not limit to what can be imagined and then realised.
When Columbus reached the new world that wasn’t the end of voyages of discovery it just opened another chapter in the story. If manned missions had continued a lot longer we would have a greater understanding of the universe its make up and how better to preserve it.
The only obstacle we have is the inability to imagine what is possible. Let us not forget that Victorian science fiction is now scientific fact. Jules Verne fantasized about getting men to the moon, and it is this type of creative thinking that has made space travel possible. It is a progressive pattern that started with the ability to create fire, making weapons for hunting etc. Starting with little baby steps got us out of the trees with the logical ending of travelling beyond the confines of our own planet and getting to the moon. The answer to the title in this transmission is a clear and unequivocal yes.
If you wish to follow the American space program visit the Nasa Homepage it really is well worth a look.
1 comments:
You should have a look at the Bad Astronomer's blog at: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy
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