The Eagle Has Landed

[Zhukov]

Considered the greatest technological achievement in history, thirty-six years ago today, 20 July 1969, man first set foot on the moon.

 

[no1tovote4]

 

[Adam's Apple]

Still boggles one's mind to think of that event. I remember so clearly the entire family getting up in the middle of the night to watch the landing on TV. We peeped out the window to see if lights were on at all the other neighborhood houses, and they were, of course.

 

[onedomino]

What happened to us? Where did the spirit of exploration go? Above is a photo of Gene Cernan, the last man on the moon, December 1972, thirty-two years ago. What happened to us? Was it merely Nixon's NASA budget cuts, or did something in the American character fade? By the time the Shuttle is launched next week, it will have been grounded for more than 2 years. The exploration of space is inherently dangerous; it will never be safe, no matter how long the Shuttle is grounded, no matter how many bureaucrats interfere. Get on with it!

 

[dilloduck]

What happened to us? Where did the spirit of exploration go? Above is a photo of Gene Cernan, the last man on the moon, December 1972, thirty-two years ago. What happened to us? Was it merely Nixon's NASA budget cuts, or did something in the American character fade? By the time the Shuttle is launched next week, it will have been grounded for more than 2 years. The exploration of space is inherently dangerous; it will never be safe, no matter how long the Shuttle is grounded, no matter how many bureaucrats interfere. Get on with it!

It's facinating but why? Is the expense really justified?

 

[Zhukov]

What happened to us? Where did the spirit of exploration go? Above is a photo of Gene Cernan, the last man on the moon, December 1972, thirty-two years ago. What happened to us? Was it merely Nixon's NASA budget cuts, or did something in the American character fade?

Vietnam, Watergate, liberalism, Jimmy Carter. Yes, something of the American character faded. Elements of American society have started to make a comeback over the last two decades or so, but huge blocks of our country continue to resist anything that smacks of greatness.

Is the expense really justified?

The expense is minimal.

NASA gets some $16b per annum.

By way of comparison the Dept. of Ed. gets about $72b.

I'd be willing to bet that all the R&D NASA does, and has done, far exceeds any and every accomplishment the Dept. of Ed. has ever had.

 

[USViking]

NASA gets some $16b per annum.

By way of comparison the Dept. of Ed. gets about $72b.

I'd be willing to bet that all the R&D NASA does, and has done, far exceeds any and every accomplishment the Dept. of Ed. has ever had.

Fill me in here- has the Dept. of Education
ever accomplished anything?!

 

[Zhukov]

I can't think of anything.


Wait, now that I think of it, they did manage to waste alot of money......

 

[dilloduck]

I can't think of anything.


Wait, now that I think of it, they did manage to waste alot of money......

Cmon---they keep most of the kids off the streets for awhile and give em a good place to sleep during the day.

 

[Mr. P]

"The Eagle Has Landed".

That phrase still gives me goose bumps!

The tension was high with less than 60 seconds of fuel remaining when they touched down!
I was glued to the TV, armed with my Kodak instamatic camera and a tape recorder.
I still have the black and white photos and tape of that day (somewhere).

When I think back on it I have the same awe I did then. What an accomplishment!
Then there was Apollo 13, just as much of an accomplishment if not greater.
Working with ground personnel and their own ingenuity they did what was pretty much impossible.

BTW..NOVA has done some fantastic documentaries on the Apollo program that I would highly recommend.
The movie "Appolo 13" was also quite accuate..for hollywood.

 

[Zhukov]

Cmon---they keep most of the kids off the streets for awhile and give em a good place to sleep during the day.

No. That would be your property taxes and your city council.

 

[dilloduck]

No. That would be your property taxes and your city council.

I'm Texas--don't forget the "big" contribution made by the state lottery !

 

[USViking]

No. That would be your property taxes and your city council.

Those guys are no slackers, either.

Where I live they float $100 million in bonds every 10 years,
and some kids are still having to attend class in rigged-up
trailers outside the schools' main buildings!

 

[no1tovote4]

Vietnam, Watergate, liberalism, Jimmy Carter. Yes, something of the American character faded. Elements of American society have started to make a comeback over the last two decades or so, but huge blocks of our country continue to resist anything that smacks of greatness.

The expense is minimal.

NASA gets some $16b per annum.

By way of comparison the Dept. of Ed. gets about $72b.

I'd be willing to bet that all the R&D NASA does, and has done, far exceeds any and every accomplishment the Dept. of Ed. has ever had.

Not only that, the expense more than pays for itself in revenues. Many of the new products of the 80s and 90s came directly from the space program.

Stuff like:

Erasable Pens
Velcro
and also many Medical advances.

It more than pays itself back, it is a worthwhile investment.

 

[dilloduck]

Not only that, the expense more than pays for itself in revenues. Many of the new products of the 80s and 90s came directly from the space program.

Stuff like:

Erasable Pens
Velcro
and also many Medical advances.

It more than pays itself back, it is a worthwhile investment.

If we invested that much in basic science or even ocean exploration they could have come up with that stuff and learned something worthwhile at the same time.

 

[no1tovote4]

If we invested that much in basic science or even ocean exploration they could have come up with that stuff and learned something worthwhile at the same time.

We do, in fact the Space Program gets less money than most other scientific research programs. However none of the other programs pay back as much as the Space Program does in scientific advances as well as advances in sciences such as Physics and Astrophysics which often help to create even more new devices.

If there is one area of science that really gives you bang for the buck it is the Space Program.

 

[Zhukov]

If we invested that much in basic science or even ocean exploration they could have come up with that stuff and learned something worthwhile at the same time.

Simple abstract research doesn't produce the same quality and quantity of results as applied science and technological problem solving.

When you set for yourself far-flung goals, like sending men to Mars, you will run into all sorts of problems you never even considered. The solutions to these problems are novel and tend to have alternate applications apart of space exploration.

Funding basic non-applied research science.....well you just end up getting a slew of scientists who endlessly investigate minutae that interests no one but themselves and has no useful application. You can trust me on that.

I'm all for ocean exploration. That will also drive technology forward.

I just happen to think space is much more interesting, and there's alot more of it to investigate.

 

[dilloduck]

Simple abstract research doesn't produce the same quality and quantity of results as applied science and technological problem solving.

When you set for yourself far-flung goals, like sending men to Mars, you will run into all sorts of problems you never even considered. The solutions to these problems are novel and tend to have alternate applications apart of space exploration.

Funding basic non-applied research science.....well you just end up getting a slew of scientists who endlessly investigate minutae that interests no one but themselves and has no useful application. You can trust me on that.

I'm all for ocean exploration. That will also drive technology forward.

I just happen to think space is much more interesting, and there's alot more of it to investigate.

The pics and the fireworks are cool, don't get me wrong and I agree that throwing money at abstract research is a waste but if this money was used for more "earthly" goals ( medicine for example),the results would be realized in indirect AND direct achievements. Let private enterprise finance the exploration of space.

 

[onedomino]

Funding basic non-applied research science.....well you just end up getting a slew of scientists who endlessly investigate minutae that interests no one but themselves and has no useful application. You can trust me on that.

Baloney. The Theory of General Relativity emerged from basic research. Quantum Mechanics is a product of basic research. The discovery of DNA came from basic research. The sequencing the human genome was basic research. The Theory of Natural Selection came from basic research. The discovery of Plate Tectonics emerged from basic research. It's a good thing you are not handing out the NSF grants for basic research.

 

[Gunny]

Considered the greatest technological achievement in history, thirty-six years ago today, 20 July 1969, man first set foot on the moon.

LOL ... I got to watch it in "living black-n-white."