Moon Landings and future space exploration

[Dog-amoto]

This month marks the 40th anniversary of mankind's greatest technological achievement when the Saturn V rocket sent the Apollo 11 astronauts on their way to landing on our moon.

 

There is talk of sending humans to the moon again in 2018, the first time anyone would have been there since 1972, with the intention of getting prepared for an eventual manned trip to Mars some time in the 2030s.

 

What's your opinion on all of this? Is it a waste of money that should be spent on other things? Do you think that interplanetary travel is an essential part of humanity's future? Or do you think that the entire Apollo mission was a hoax??

 

Personally, I would love to witness a successful manned mission to Mars, and even the Moon again. However, I don't think it will happen unless there is another "space race" (maybe involving the US and China this time) where money would be no object in order to get there first. Also, the logistics of a manned interplanetary trip would be, pardon the pun, astronomical and this alone would make a trip to Mars a very unlikely possibility.

[MoogleViper]

I think it's quite necessary. Sure the money could be better spent other ways but you could say that about almost anything. Although excluding any alien intervention serious space travel is way beyond our lifetimes.

[Ramar]

It's imperative that we develop technology that allows us to explore the rest of the universe. Eventually we'll need to colonise another planet.

 

Though I am rather dubious about the moon landings, there are some things that are a bit odd about the videos and pictures taken. So I welcome another moon landing, hopefully this time evidence will be conclusive enough to prove conspiracy theorists wrong.

[ReZourceman]

There was a Mythbusters episode about the moon landing being a conspiracy and they busted it. I don't need any higher confirmation than that.

 

PS Space FTW.

[Dannyboy-the-Dane]

There was a Mythbusters episode about the moon landing being a conspiracy and they busted it. I don't need any higher confirmation than that.

 

PS Space FTW.

Indeed. I have a book detailing and grading the 100 best known conspiracy theories. The Apollo moon landing conspiracy gets an alert level of 1/10.

Edited July 2, 2009 by Dannyboy-the-Dane

[danny]

It has to be done. Imagine if America had never been discovered. And as for the theroy of space travel being beyond our liftime, who knows what could be discovered.

[Raining_again]

Indeed. I have a book detailing and grading the 100 best known conspiracy theories. The Apollo moon landing conspiracy gets an alert level of 1/10.

 

Why doesn't this surprise me?

[Dog-amoto]

Interstellar travel is certainly beyond what will be achieved in our lifetime.

 

The furthest man made object from Earth, the Voyager 1 probe, is still only in the outer reaches of our solar system, and it was launched in 1977. If it was travelling in the direction of our nearest star, it would get there in about 75,000 years.

 

So clearly, a new, faster propulsion technology is needed which would likely take decades to develop and build and even then it would likely be nowhere near the speed of light. And even if it was, it would take four years to reach the nearest star, and another four years for the communication to come back to us that the probe/manned mission had made it.

 

When you consider that our galaxy is an estimated 100 million light years in diameter, containing approx one billion stars, and the closest galaxy is 2.5 million light years away, you get an idea of just how difficult any travel to another part of the universe would be.

[MoogleViper]

Interstellar travel is certainly beyond what will be achieved in our lifetime.

 

The furthest man made object from Earth, the Voyager 1 probe, is still only in the outer reaches of our solar system, and it was launched in 1977. If it was travelling in the direction of our nearest star, it would get there in about 75,000 years.

 

So clearly, a new, faster propulsion technology is needed which would likely take decades to develop and build and even then it would likely be nowhere near the speed of light. And even if it was, it would take four years to reach the nearest star, and another four years for the communication to come back to us that the probe/manned mission had made it.

 

When you consider that our galaxy is an estimated 100 million light years in diameter, containing approx one billion stars, and the closest galaxy is 2.5 million light years away, you get an idea of just how difficult any travel to another part of the universe would be.

 

Which is why we need hyperdrive technology.

 

I just wish the Asgard would come and give it to us sometime soon.

[Emasher]

Its probably not going to happen in our lifetimes without either a breakthrough in medicine or transportation technology, not to mention communicative technology. While I would love to just know what else is out there, its easily possible that mankind never will.

[Oxigen_Waste]

Indeed. I have a book detailing and grading the 100 best known conspiracy theories. The Apollo moon landing conspiracy gets an alert level of 1/10.

 

Name and author of the book, please. Sounds like pleasent toilet reading material.

[Shino]

Interstellar travel is certainly beyond what will be achieved in our lifetime.

 

The furthest man made object from Earth, the Voyager 1 probe, is still only in the outer reaches of our solar system, and it was launched in 1977. If it was travelling in the direction of our nearest star, it would get there in about 75,000 years.

 

So clearly, a new, faster propulsion technology is needed which would likely take decades to develop and build and even then it would likely be nowhere near the speed of light. And even if it was, it would take four years to reach the nearest star, and another four years for the communication to come back to us that the probe/manned mission had made it.

 

When you consider that our galaxy is an estimated 100 million light years in diameter, containing approx one billion stars, and the closest galaxy is 2.5 million light years away, you get an idea of just how difficult any travel to another part of the universe would be.

 

It has no propulsion though, there's newer efficient methods that would easily allow us to colonize the solar system. With 40 years of technological advances its a shame if humanity doesn't give it another try.

[Chris the great]

you got focus magazine too dog? they have a rather nifty looking section on it i havent checked out yet.

 

my view is that we need to get back into space, i mean, man is the curious ape after all, we need to go further, find more, maybe find new homes, expand, and increase our chance of surival indefinatly.

 

as for was the moon landing a hoax? get a telescope, the craft is actualy visable on the moons surface. plus, who was monitering the moon landings possibly even more intently then old uncle sam? thats right, the good ol' red menace. if they had even a tiny shred of doubt that america had landed, wouldet they be shouting it as loud as they could?

Edited July 2, 2009 by Chris the great

[Dannyboy-the-Dane]

Name and author of the book, please. Sounds like pleasent toilet reading material.

 

The Mammoth Book of Cover-Ups - The 100 Most Disturbing Conspiracies of All Time by author Jon E. Lewis

 

It is very detailed with great explanations and even transcripts of important documents. The alert levels are also well explained and grounded in research, and I must say I trust his judgements a lot.

 

By the way, I bought it in London when I was there last summer.

[navarre]

I think China has already started to embark on its own space programme, but I doubt there'll be another space race. Most countries don't have the resources the United States does, and many people from across the world work in NASA anyway. It's just as much a global organization as it is an American one.

 

Anyway, it is indeed a feat to be remembered.

[Shino]

I think China has already started to embark on its own space programme, but I doubt there'll be another space race. Most countries don't have the resources the United States does, and many people from across the world work in NASA anyway. It's just as much a global organization as it is an American one.

 

Anyway, it is indeed a feat to be remembered.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_space_race

 

The west might be stale leading but with this kind of competition maybe things will get interesting in the near future. Kind of sad that everything in society as to be competitive though.

[Dannyboy-the-Dane]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_space_race

 

The west might be stale leading but with this kind of competition maybe things will get interesting in the near future. Kind of sad that everything in society as to be competitive though.

Well, according to liberalism, competition is what drives the world. They do have a point.

 

Not that I agree with it.

[Chris the great]

I think China has already started to embark on its own space programme, but I doubt there'll be another space race. Most countries don't have the resources the United States does, and many people from across the world work in NASA anyway. It's just as much a global organization as it is an American one.

 

Anyway, it is indeed a feat to be remembered.

 

theres talk that china will reach mars first, its detailed in the moths focus magazine. to be honest, i think they will do it, they are more at ease pouring money into it, and with slightly less of a focus on safty. i belive that the next decade will see the moon begin to be built upon, possibly a reseach station either on the surface or orbiting it, almost as a traning ground for constructing on mars.

 

Well, according to liberalism, competition is what drives the world. They do have a point.

 

Not that I agree with it.

 

competion is eitierly sexual, human nature is based around sex, there for most things we do we are inevitably competaive in. i dont think its a bad thing, so long as its handled sensibly, but alas, as football proves, competion breeds hatred, at least in the less intelegent.

[Dannyboy-the-Dane]

theres talk that china will reach mars first, its detailed in the moths focus magazine. to be honest, i think they will do it, they are more at ease pouring money into it, and with slightly less of a focus on safty. i belive that the next decade will see the moon begin to be built upon, possibly a reseach station either on the surface or orbiting it, almost as a traning ground for constructing on mars.

 

 

 

competion is eitierly sexual, human nature is based around sex, there for most things we do we are inevitably competaive in. i dont think its a bad thing, so long as its handled sensibly, but alas, as football proves, competion breeds hatred, at least in the less intelegent.

Well, competition isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's natural. However, I don't agree with liberalism in that it should be the primary driving force in society. I'm more of a socialist.

[Chris the great]

your a commie!

 

 

in the 1950's, youd be fucked cos of me saying that.

[Dannyboy-the-Dane]

your a commie!

 

 

in the 1950's, youd be fucked cos of me saying that.

Thankfully, we're not in the fifties anymore.

 

Though I'm not a communist. I'm actually much more libertarian than I am authoritarian, I'm just pretty left wing when it comes to economy.

 

But we're kinda going off topic here.

[navarre]

your a commie!

 

 

in the 1950's, youd be fucked cos of me saying that.

 

Communism, in theory, is a wonderful ideology. Cuba is an example of communism gone right (or as right as it can get, considering American embargos and dictators). However, North Korea, in a complete contrast, is the most suppressive regime on the planet. It technically can't be classified as a completely communist state any more though, the political thinking dervies more from the policies of the late manical tyrant Kim II-sung.

[Cube]

First things first: The government needs to abolish the law that says that we can't send anyone into space.

[Rick Dangerous]

I think we need to focus on studying our immediate surroundings before fucking up the rest of the universe. I like the moon as it is now. Do we really need a subway there?