Would you go to the moon?

[calm_kiwi]

@Tuckerfan

If we can magically whip a trillion dollars out of our ass to pay for Wallstreet’s screw ups, I think that we can manage, somehow, to do both. And no doubt, our economies would be in better shape for doing it, than with the bailout.

Sorry I thought the question was about personal choice not US as a collective. You are probably right moneywise but I think there is more to see on this planet then on our moon.

[calm_kiwi]

@Cisco

I have been to 49 states, 11 countries, and 3 continents. I have seen countless nature and adventure documentaries, and read ~2 books a week for the last 20 years, mostly non-fiction --a great deal of them about our planet, and more than a few about its inhabitants, both human and otherwise. I would love to be able to explore the frontiers left on our world, but they don’t compare to seeing home, our fragile, Pale Blue Dot, from the vantage point of its daughter, Luna. And liftoff? Weightlessness en route? One-sixth Earth gravity to frolick in at your destination? Icing on the cake. Some of the best icing that can be imagined. Frankly I’m very offended at you dismissing the idea as “wanky”. You have no idea what the space program has done for you.

Sorry for the “wanky” bit. I don’t think going to the moon was wanky for man and certainly not for the usa in the time it happened.

I just think that the only real reason for members of the public (ie: not scientists and astronauts) to go to the moon is the adreneline rush and the view. Personally I think we can get more of both from right here on planet Earth. Though I’m sure the view would be awesome, if not bittersweet…“Hey look at all that blue and green I could have explored”.

[even_sven]

Meh. I’d totally go if it was free and the shuttle was at my door, ready to go. Just to say I did it.

But honestly, I’d rather explore this Earth. Why would I want to go to a dead rock, when there is a whole living world at my doorstep? The only thing we will never truly figure out is humanity. The only things that can ever truly surprise us are things that conscious creatures do. There is so much to see- so much history, so many cultures- that it’s enough to keep me pretty full for a lifetime.

[Tuckerfan]

@even_sven

Meh. I’d totally go if it was free and the shuttle was at my door, ready to go. Just to say I did it.

But honestly, I’d rather explore this Earth. Why would I want to go to a dead rock, when there is a whole living world at my doorstep? The only thing we will never truly figure out is humanity. The only things that can ever truly surprise us are things that conscious creatures do. There is so much to see- so much history, so many cultures- that it’s enough to keep me pretty full for a lifetime.

So you’re saying you’d rather go see the places where history happened, rather than be in places where you could make history happen. Interesting.

[Magiver]

@Tuckerfan

So you’re saying you’d rather go see the places where history happened, rather than be in places where you could make history happen. Interesting.

How is a “moon-tourist” more historic then the accomplishments people can make on Earth? Think in terms of dollars spent. Do you think Bill Gates on the moon is more historic than Bill Gates the creator of MS or Bill Gates the head of various foundations?

The Apollo Missions created technologies that rippled across the planet in ways people couldn’t comprehend at the time. I doubt few endeavors will have such a payoff for mankind again. But repeating the event will have little historic meaning to it.

[Tuckerfan]

@Magiver

How is a “moon-tourist” more historic then the accomplishments people can make on Earth? Think in terms of dollars spent. Do you think Bill Gates on the moon is more historic than Bill Gates the creator of MS or Bill Gates the head of various foundations?

It all depends upon what ol’ Bill does up there, doesn’t it? Suppose he wanders off and discovers a previously unknown geological feature of the Moon? Or a large concentration of He[sub]3[/sub] which we can then use for fission? Or maybe he gets an idea for something while he’s up there, that he never would have been inspired to think about while here on Earth? And being the first lunar tourist is pretty historic, in and of its own right. Certainly more historic than being the one 1,223,375,789,236th person to visit the battlefield at Gettysburg. The Moon is roughly the size of Africa, and the total area explored by humans on the Moon is about that of Cape Town. There’s a whole lot of shit left to be found there that we don’t know anything about yet.

The Apollo Missions created technologies that rippled across the planet in ways people couldn’t comprehend at the time. I doubt few endeavors will have such a payoff for mankind again. But repeating the event will have little historic meaning to it.

One could easily say the same thing about Columbus’ second voyage to the Americas. Nor will going to the Moon mean we won’t be seeing another massive wave of technological improvements. We won’t be going back to the Moon with 1960s technology, we’ll be going back (at least as its proposed now) with 21st Century technology and doing things on the Moon undreampt of in the 1960s. We can’t simply dust off the old Apollo blueprints and use those (they’re around in microfiche form), so many of the components used in the original designs are no longer around, and the materials we have today are much better than anything we had in the 1960s. Pushing the envelope, whether here on Earth, or in space, requires lots of new technolgy, some of it we won’t even know we need until we get there.

[Magiver]

@Tuckerfan

It all depends upon what ol’ Bill does up there, doesn’t it? Suppose he wanders off and discovers a previously unknown geological feature of the Moon? Or a large concentration of He[sub]3[/sub] which we can then use for fission? Or maybe he gets an idea for something while he’s up there, that he never would have been inspired to think about while here on Earth? And being the first lunar tourist is pretty historic, in and of its own right. Certainly more historic than being the one 1,223,375,789,236th person to visit the battlefield at Gettysburg. The Moon is roughly the size of Africa, and the total area explored by humans on the Moon is about that of Cape Town. There’s a whole lot of shit left to be found there that we don’t know anything about yet.

Point taken. I read the premise as a tourist adventure.

@Tuckerfan

One could easily say the same thing about Columbus’ second voyage to the Americas. Nor will going to the Moon mean we won’t be seeing another massive wave of technological improvements. We won’t be going back to the Moon with 1960s technology, we’ll be going back (at least as its proposed now) with 21st Century technology and doing things on the Moon undreampt of in the 1960s. We can’t simply dust off the old Apollo blueprints and use those (they’re around in microfiche form), so many of the components used in the original designs are no longer around, and the materials we have today are much better than anything we had in the 1960s. Pushing the envelope, whether here on Earth, or in space, requires lots of new technolgy, some of it we won’t even know we need until we get there.

Of course it will be new stuff but it will follow 60’s technology. The Space Shuttle has shown that it is better to be in front of the rocket motor rather than next to it. It will resemble old school technology quite a bit with a multi-stage/stacked arrangement.

I’ll still need the QE-2 version before I go. I would, however, like to look at the moon through the Polimar telescope. After watching a documentary on it I would love to use it. I’d be willing to split a 6 pack if any of the astronomers are reading this.

[Tuckerfan]

@Magiver

Point taken. I read the premise as a tourist adventure.

Even tourists have been known to discover things.

Of course it will be new stuff but it will follow 60’s technology. The Space Shuttle has shown that it is better to be in front of the rocket motor rather than next to it. It will resemble old school technology quite a bit with a multi-stage/stacked arrangement.

The similarities are purely cosmetic. The Saturn V was a Model-T by comparison. (And the head of the X-Prize Foundation wants to have tourists on the Moon before NASA makes it back, so who knows how we’ll get there? )

I’ll still need the QE-2 version before I go. I would, however, like to look at the moon through the Polimar telescope. After watching a documentary on it I would love to use it. I’d be willing to split a 6 pack if any of the astronomers are reading this.

Palomar has tours, and many observatories have “meet the astronomer nights” so if you poke around on their site, you might be able to get your wish.

[Merkwurdigliebe]

Hell yes,

And you know what? Even if you blew up or somehow died, it’d almost be a relief to die doing something so awesome. You could at least realize that you’d go out during the pinnacle of your life.

[Siam_Sam]

I would love to go to the Moon. But not if it meant certain death or I had to take out a huge mortgage to do it. It would have to be, say, along the lines of an airplane flight in terms of cost and safety if I’m paying for it.

There was a time when people were probably asked whether they would chance riding in an automobile if given the opportunity. Or an airplane. It’s coming eventually.

[rbroome]

@Q.E.D

But, you’d weight one-sixth less!

For me, I’d go; even if a return trip were a shaky prospect. I mean, come on. The Moon!

nitpick/ 5/6s. gravity on the moon is 1/6 that of earth. ./

for the OP. in a heartbeat. Though if it was a one-way trip my wife probably wouldn’t let me. But if there was a decent chance of returning, I’d ride the jumpseat if necessary.