1 year, 8 months ago
Why we abandoned the Moon ?
“I believe that this nation should commit itself, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth … no single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind or more important for the long range exploration of space.”
With his speech on May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy established the conquest of the Moon as a national goal. The space program, through NASA, was to have far reaching effects, developing new technologies and forcing the nation’s schools to emphasize the teaching of science and mathematics. It was a dramatic cultural revolution that eventually brought us things like velcro, Star Trek and the internet.
But even before it started, our exploration of the Moon was destined to be short-lived. Despite all the promises and science fiction movies, humans would not build bases on the Moon, mine for minerals or use it as a stepping stone to other planets. In fact, the Moon would soon be forgotten and ignored by space research — why?
Source: http://thetruthbehindthescenes.wordpress.com
With his speech on May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy established the conquest of the Moon as a national goal. The space program, through NASA, was to have far reaching effects, developing new technologies and forcing the nation’s schools to emphasize the teaching of science and mathematics. It was a dramatic cultural revolution that eventually brought us things like velcro, Star Trek and the internet.
But even before it started, our exploration of the Moon was destined to be short-lived. Despite all the promises and science fiction movies, humans would not build bases on the Moon, mine for minerals or use it as a stepping stone to other planets. In fact, the Moon would soon be forgotten and ignored by space research — why?
Source: http://thetruthbehindthescenes.wordpress.com
images:
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$2 Answers
There are several reasons for the halting of the manned explorations of the moon.
1) Cost - The Apollo Program in its entirety (Research & development, procurement of spacecraft and launch vehicles, administrative and personnel costs over a period of 10 years) cost roughly $24 billion at the time ($170 billion in 2005 dollars)
2) Loss of Public Interest - Public support for the Apollo Program fell dramatically as soon as John F. Kennedy's dramatic goal of landing a man on the moon was achieved by Apollo 11 in 1969. By the time of the Apollo 13 accident, the public perceived going to the moon as boring, routine, and wasteful of government funds. By 1971, public interest was so low that the last three Apollo missions (18, 19, and 20) were scrapped, even though all of the hardware (launch vehicles and spacecraft) had already been bought and paid for. In the end, even paying the people personnel necessary for a successful mission to the moon was considered to great a waste of taxpayer money.
3) Lack of Tangible Economic Benefits - While man's journeys to the moon brought back a wealth of scientific data and a better understanding of the origins of the moon, our Earth, and the solar system, these alone weren't deemed enough to justify the cost of continuing such exploration. It's been said that even if there were gold bars just lying on the surface of the moon, the cost of getting there and bringing them home far outweigh the potential profit.
4) The Nature of the Apollo Program - While Apollo was and remains to be perceived as a purely scientific and technical undertaking, the truth is, its origins are firmly founded in the politics of the cold war. America had been embarrassed by the Soviet Union's numerous firsts in space (first man made satellite, first man in space, first space walk, etc.), and landing a man on the moon was largely undertaken to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt the scientific, technological, and economic superiority of the United States. As soon as this goal was met, political support dried up, and along with it, the funding necessary for continued lunar and space exploration. Since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, no human being has left the orbit of the Earth.
1) Cost - The Apollo Program in its entirety (Research & development, procurement of spacecraft and launch vehicles, administrative and personnel costs over a period of 10 years) cost roughly $24 billion at the time ($170 billion in 2005 dollars)
2) Loss of Public Interest - Public support for the Apollo Program fell dramatically as soon as John F. Kennedy's dramatic goal of landing a man on the moon was achieved by Apollo 11 in 1969. By the time of the Apollo 13 accident, the public perceived going to the moon as boring, routine, and wasteful of government funds. By 1971, public interest was so low that the last three Apollo missions (18, 19, and 20) were scrapped, even though all of the hardware (launch vehicles and spacecraft) had already been bought and paid for. In the end, even paying the people personnel necessary for a successful mission to the moon was considered to great a waste of taxpayer money.
3) Lack of Tangible Economic Benefits - While man's journeys to the moon brought back a wealth of scientific data and a better understanding of the origins of the moon, our Earth, and the solar system, these alone weren't deemed enough to justify the cost of continuing such exploration. It's been said that even if there were gold bars just lying on the surface of the moon, the cost of getting there and bringing them home far outweigh the potential profit.
4) The Nature of the Apollo Program - While Apollo was and remains to be perceived as a purely scientific and technical undertaking, the truth is, its origins are firmly founded in the politics of the cold war. America had been embarrassed by the Soviet Union's numerous firsts in space (first man made satellite, first man in space, first space walk, etc.), and landing a man on the moon was largely undertaken to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt the scientific, technological, and economic superiority of the United States. As soon as this goal was met, political support dried up, and along with it, the funding necessary for continued lunar and space exploration. Since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, no human being has left the orbit of the Earth.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$Report Abuse
We had to forget about the Moon. The Moon didn't have what we were looking for. We soon learned that it wasn't worth stay there. The Moon didn't have any good benefits for us. This is why we have to look at other planets now.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
