Everybody and their monkey got their two cents in on this event over the weekend but I wanted to add to the din because the exploration of outer space is near to my heart.
Forty years ago I was about nine days short of being a year old, so obviously I have no recollection. I highly doubt my parents even bothered to put me near a TV too. Slightly older friends told me about their memories. I always felt a bit jealous because I missed out.
One guy on NPR stated that all our current efforts on trying to go back to the Moon are a waste of energy. He wasn’t one of the usual naysaying pundits who wants to remind the listeners about all of America’s current domestic problems. He said the US won’t really try very hard unless there’s competition like the nation had from the Soviet Union. I doubt he’ll have to wait very long thanks to the ambitions of China and India. Russia’s current programs (government-sponsored and commercial) aren’t much to sweat unless they succeed at something substantial. The bigger problem is how America plans its budget from year-to-year; it’s impossible to plan anything for the long term due to the shifts in demographics, parties, mindsets, etc. Hence, a manned mission to Mars or even energy independence will probably never happen as the electorate gets distracted by another Michael Jackson funeral.
Despite the sad shape of space exploration, no one can deny the accomplishment. Think about it. In less than 70 years, humanity perfected flight with the Wright Brothers (the guys who smart enough to get their achievement documented) to landing a pair of astronauts on another celestial body. Having the astronauts return to Earth alive would be the next amazing feat. For those who said NASA was a waste of money, especially through their blogs, forget how improved computing power was an indirect byproduct of the Space Race.
The Moon Landing actually happening became a pet project of mine some years ago too. I used to have a co-worker who was one of those hoax proponents. Listening to his “facts” were comical. They were also easy to prove as bullshit. Dr. Phil Plait has a whole chapter in his great book Bad Astronomy dedicated to counter all the lies spread by Brad Sibert and his ilk. (Here’s a free link though.) I think he even made an appearance on Mythbusters which I need t hunt down. Anyway, my immediate counter to this person’s “evidence” was always ignored; if Armstrong and Aldrin weren’t there, then why didn’t the Soviet Union point it out? A war wouldn’t have broken out. Besides, the US put 12 people on the Moon in the end and the endeavor required hundreds of techs and engineers. In the current confessions-for-cash society we live in, it’s unlikely this dirty secret could’ve succeeded this long. Personally, I think this former co-worker got most of his facts from the movie Capricorn One and Ron Paul’s personal Kool-Aid mix; the former being the origin of the black helicopters.