# Apollo 2019: What steps would we change **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 19, 2019, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-2019-what-steps-would-we-change/837306 "2019-07-19T14:46:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2019, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-2019-what-steps-would-we-change/837306/41 "2019-07-21T14:01:07Z")
No High Oxygen atmosphere in the command module. {REMEMBERING THE FIRE} ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2019, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-2019-what-steps-would-we-change/837306/42 "2019-07-21T16:36:26Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > No High Oxygen atmosphere in the command module. > {REMEMBERING THE FIRE} I know this is a digression — and I apologize — but this post brought [this editorial cartoon](https://i1.wp.com/www.anecdotes-spatiales.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Apollo-1-et-Neil-Armstrong.jpg?resize=420%2C486) to mind. It brought tears to my eyes in 1969; oddly enough, it still does. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2019, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-2019-what-steps-would-we-change/837306/43 "2019-07-21T16:41:45Z")
Apollo never stopped using pure oxygen though. Even the Apollo capsule for the [Apollo-Soyuz Test Project](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo%E2%80%93Soyuz_Test_Project) used a pure oxygen atmosphere, and they had to connect to the Soyuz (which uses nitrogen/oxygen) through an airlock. The lessons learned from Apollo-1 was mainly about materials that are flammable in pure oxygen atmosphere. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2019, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-2019-what-steps-would-we-change/837306/44 "2019-07-21T17:53:11Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > I know this is a digression — and I apologize — but this post brought [this editorial cartoon](https://i1.wp.com/www.anecdotes-spatiales.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Apollo-1-et-Neil-Armstrong.jpg?resize=420%2C486) to mind. It brought tears to my eyes in 1969; oddly enough, it still does. Ed White walked in space during a Gemini flight. I thought that he was, like Neil Armstrong, an X-15 pilot, but it seems that I was mistaken. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-2019-what-steps-would-we-change/837306/45 "2019-07-22T04:01:46Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > Did you miss the news that the President ordered NASA to land a man on the Moon by [2024](https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2019/5/22/18623177/nasa-artemis-moon-2024-trump-bridenstine-explained)? I didn’t miss it–I ignored it. To start, $1.6B is chump change. It’s barely enough to get a study going in today’s NASA. I put the odds at 0% of a manned landing on the Moon by 2024 if SLS is involved, no matter what happens with the funding. There is a tiny outside chance of happening if the plan is just to throw a bunch of money SpaceX’s way, but the odds of _that_ happening are also zero given the way NASA works politically. SpaceX may just barely have enough internal funding to launch an unmanned mission to the Moon by 2024 via Starship. I think the odds are low, but not quite impossible. And maybe if that happens, NASA will have no choice but to dump SLS and go that route. But still–super long odds. SpaceX will have an easier time if and when Starlink comes together and starts making a lot of money, but that will take several years. NASA may just barely be able to put someone _around_ the moon via SLS+Orion by 2024. But that’s easy mode. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-2019-what-steps-would-we-change/837306/46 "2019-07-22T04:46:16Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > NASA may just barely be able to put someone _around_ the moon via SLS+Orion by 2024. But that’s easy mode. And return him safely to earth? We are A LOT out of practice. At least 2024 is Solar Max, so few cosmic ray problems, just solar flares. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-2019-what-steps-would-we-change/837306/47 "2019-07-22T07:26:22Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > And return him safely to earth? > We are A LOT out of practice. Not saying it’s easy, just easier–by a lot. Capsule expertise hasn’t decayed, nor has basic life support. And a free return trajectory isn’t the hardest thing in the world. [Artemis 2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_2) is supposed to launch in 2023. Given how many delays SLS experienced, it doesn’t seem likely that it’ll be right on schedule. But they could conceivably make 2024 if the funding is there. But [Artemis 3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_3) in 2024? No way. They need a completely new landing vehicle and as best I can tell they haven’t even sketched out a design yet, let alone started bending metal. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-2019-what-steps-would-we-change/837306/48 "2019-07-22T08:53:07Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > SpaceX may just barely have enough internal funding to launch an unmanned mission to the Moon by 2024 via Starship. SpaceX has _already_ launched an unmanned moon mission earlier this year, the Israeli [Beresheet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beresheet) lunar probe. It achieved lunar orbit but crashed on the moon due to failure of the gyroscope. If someone has a moon probe ready to go, they could easily do it again. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-2019-what-steps-would-we-change/837306/49 "2019-07-22T09:49:18Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > SpaceX has _already_ launched an unmanned moon mission earlier this year, the Israeli [Beresheet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beresheet) lunar probe. True. I should have said “unmanned, but with a vehicle that could conceivably be manned.” Namely, Starship. A Crew Dragon atop a Falcon Heavy could have done a flyby as well, but they gave up on that effort in favor of Starship. Dragon didn’t have much future there since it never would have been able to land. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-2019-what-steps-would-we-change/837306/50 "2019-07-22T13:12:28Z")
After watching First Man I learned Armstrong nearly died in Gemini 8 , they went into a spin they almost could not get out of. The mission was supposed to be 3 days but it was cut to 10 hours. They were testing docking with the Agena module. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-2019-what-steps-would-we-change/837306/51 "2019-07-22T13:50:48Z")
I wish **Stranger on a Train** would come back. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-2019-what-steps-would-we-change/837306/52 "2019-07-22T13:53:15Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > After watching First Man I learned Armstrong nearly died in Gemini 8 , they went into a spin they almost could not get out of. The mission was supposed to be 3 days but it was cut to 10 hours. They were testing docking with the Agena module. Then there was the time he ejected from the Lunar Landing Training Vehicle, went back to his desk and didn’t think to mention it to anybody. Alan Bean tells that story in the excellent documentary “In the Shadow of the Moon”. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-2019-what-steps-would-we-change/837306/53 "2019-07-22T14:08:39Z")
Right, his demonstrated coolness in an emergency, as well as his private nature, were why he was chosen to be the next Lindbergh. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-2019-what-steps-would-we-change/837306/54 "2019-07-22T15:22:45Z")
Here’s an [article](https://curious-droid.com/279/neil-armstrong-cheated-death-multiple-times-apollo/) listing quite a few of his near-death incidents. If you’re flying things like X-1B’s and X-15’s those are going to happen. It also mentions the incident at Edwards with Chuck Yeager where they were disputing whether the lake bed had dried out enough. Armstrong decided it was, landed, and … oops. Going back to the Moon? Find yourself a bunch of people like this. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-2019-what-steps-would-we-change/837306/55 "2019-07-22T19:00:45Z")
Personally, I’d guess that rather than do it all in one huge lift with a Saturn V class rocket, they’d do it in a series of launches- crew capsule, lander, fuel, and then rendezvous in orbit, and then do their TLI burn from there. That way, they could do it more economically; for example, the Falcon 9 is roughly equivalent to the Saturn 1B, so it could put a capsule in orbit without much trouble, and for considerably less cost. I think the biggest change would be that I suspect that they’d want to spend significant time on the lunar surface relative to Apollo. Even Apollo 17 only managed 3 7-ish hour EVAs and brought back less than 250 lbs of samples. I have a feeling NASA would want much more than that when/if they go back. ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-2019-what-steps-would-we-change/837306/56 "2019-07-22T20:31:30Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > Then there was the time [Armstrong] ejected from the Lunar Landing Training Vehicle, went back to his desk and didn’t think to mention it to anybody. I used to think that was a bit weird too, but then my understanding of the way the LLTV was used was flawed. I used to think the astronauts just went out to the field and hopped in to do some training like they might train in the T-38, but then I saw this video about how astronauts didn’t do it alone. They had an entire [mini-mission control](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBQaFfxfWc8&feature=youtu.be&t=655) working with them and each training flight was almost as rigorously scheduled and monitored as the real lunar landing mission. He probably felt it was Somebody Else’s job to spread the word about the mishap. > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I thought Buzz Aldrin had that figured out. Figured what out, exactly? > [@Chronos](#): > > Space isn’t a place; it’s a whole lot of places And not just a whole lot of places, but a whole lot of energies/orbits. That’s a Greater Infinity (channeling Michael McCollum there :)). > [@bump](#): > > they’d do it in a series of launches- crew capsule, lander, fuel, and then rendezvous in orbit, and then do their TLI burn from there. And probably without a space station. > [@](#): > > I think the biggest change would be that I suspect that they’d want to spend significant time on the lunar surface relative to Apollo… Definitely. This will require either a much more capable lift vehicle than the Saturn V, or a bunch of smaller launches. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-2019-what-steps-would-we-change/837306/57 "2019-07-22T20:39:30Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Right. Nevertheless, the [aerospace industry is skeptical](https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/10/the-unhappy-history-of-presidential-plans-for-human-space-exploration/). As the saying goes: “No bucks, no Buck Rogers”. I don’t think his “order” was serious. But now he can say he is making America Great Again. When it doesn’t work out, because not even his administration is asking for anywhere enough money, he will blame the democrats in congress for letting the country down. Win Win. NASA as always is the loser in this political charade. The Democrats will be forced to argue with budgets and facts-always a losing argument with the public. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-2019-what-steps-would-we-change/837306/58 "2019-07-22T21:17:41Z")
> [@Ponderoid](#): > > Figured what out, exactly? Orbital rendezvous. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-2019-what-steps-would-we-change/837306/59 "2019-07-23T16:32:58Z")
Something we could do without, for our next lunar mission: Quindar Tones (those annoying beeps): [Apollo 17 Quindar Tone Example - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrB6uCV2F0k) Fortunately, NASA has already stopped doing this, so it’s unlikely they’d start using them again. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-2019-what-steps-would-we-change/837306/60 "2019-07-23T19:33:23Z")
> [@rbroome](#): > > I don’t think his “order” was serious. What do you mean by that? NASA is part of the executive branch of the US government. Realistic or not, NASA is committed to _try_ to land a human on the Moon by 2024. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-2019-what-steps-would-we-change/837306.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-2019-what-steps-would-we-change/837306.md?page=4)