#4328959 - 01/16/17 11:14 PM
Re: RIP Gene Cernan - last man on the Moon
[Re: semmern]
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oldgrognard
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Lifer
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USA
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Great adventurers; daring men.
Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.
Someday your life will flash in front of your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.
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#4329032 - 01/17/17 11:17 AM
Re: RIP Gene Cernan - last man on the Moon
[Re: semmern]
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ricnunes
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Portugal
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#4329103 - 01/17/17 03:58 PM
Re: RIP Gene Cernan - last man on the Moon
[Re: semmern]
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Joined: Feb 2000
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Jedi Master
Entil'zha
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Entil'zha
Sierra Hotel
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It's a real tragedy we've not been back.
The Jedi Master
The anteater is wearing the bagel because he's a reindeer princess. -- my 4 yr old daughter
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#4329213 - 01/17/17 09:54 PM
Re: RIP Gene Cernan - last man on the Moon
[Re: Jedi Master]
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wheelsup_cavu
Lifer
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Lifer
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It's a real tragedy we've not been back.
The Jedi Master Gene would have agreed with you. RIP Wheels
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#4329278 - 01/18/17 03:24 AM
Re: RIP Gene Cernan - last man on the Moon
[Re: Jedi Master]
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Zamzow
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It's a real tragedy we've not been back.
Sure, it's a "real tragedy" that we started spending money on other things after getting men on the moon six times. Here's a very incomplete list of "useless things" that happened in space exploration since the Apollo program: International Space Station. Space Shuttles. Cassini/Huygens. Multiple rovers and orbital craft for Mars. Voyager 1 and 2 - complete waste of money and scientific resources, yep... Pluto/Charon/et al flyby. Dawn mission - Ceres and Vesta. The list goes on and on and on.
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#4329280 - 01/18/17 03:29 AM
Re: RIP Gene Cernan - last man on the Moon
[Re: Zamzow]
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F4UDash4
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SC
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It's a real tragedy we've not been back.
Sure, it's a "real tragedy" that we started spending money on other things after getting men on the moon six times. Here's a very incomplete list of "useless things" that happened in space exploration since the Apollo program: International Space Station. Space Shuttles. Cassini/Huygens. Multiple rovers and orbital craft for Mars. Voyager 1 and 2 - complete waste of money and scientific resources, yep... Pluto/Charon/et al flyby. Dawn mission - Ceres and Vesta. The list goes on and on and on. None of which compare to humans actually going there.
"In the vast library of socialist books, there’s not a single volume on how to create wealth, only how to take and “redistribute” it.” - David Horowitz
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#4329281 - 01/18/17 03:32 AM
Re: RIP Gene Cernan - last man on the Moon
[Re: semmern]
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Zamzow
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Well what do you want? More moon rocks?
Explain what exactly would be achieved in a cost effective manner by sending humans to the moon again right now.
Personally I think NASA and the rest made the right call.
EDIT: Now I'm not saying we should never go there again....
Last edited by Zamzow; 01/18/17 03:33 AM.
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#4329287 - 01/18/17 04:16 AM
Re: RIP Gene Cernan - last man on the Moon
[Re: semmern]
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F4UDash4
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The surface area of the moon is about 50% greater than the surface area of North America, do you really think we've extensively explored that area with only 6 visits, all of which were on the near side of the moon and within a relatively narrow band of latitude?
"In the vast library of socialist books, there’s not a single volume on how to create wealth, only how to take and “redistribute” it.” - David Horowitz
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#4329382 - 01/18/17 03:04 PM
Re: RIP Gene Cernan - last man on the Moon
[Re: semmern]
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Joined: Feb 2000
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Jedi Master
Entil'zha
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Entil'zha
Sierra Hotel
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Everyone, and I mean pretty much everyone on Earth, assumed that by the end of the 20th century we would have a permanent presence on the Moon. A full-fledged outpost the size of what we have in Antarctica, which is only slightly easier to get to, although quite a bit cheaper. Yet somehow it's like Columbus returned from the Americas and everyone in Europe just said, "nah, it's too much effort, we have some barely seen parts of the mountains over there we could look at though."
There are two major issues. One, vulnerability. A planet can become uninhabitable long enough for most species to die out, whether due to natural or unnatural events. Getting a significant enough portion of humanity living off planet to ensure we continue is a worthy goal.
Two, room. We can't keep increasing the planet's population by 1 billion people every 20 years. We need room off the planet to expand to. The Moon is the obvious first step, Mars the logical major one. Ideally we would find more hospitable planets elsewhere, so we're not all vulnerable to just one sun's possible issues, but that will require a major breakthrough in propulsion tech we haven't made yet.
I think we can all agree going for a bunch of rocks is indeed a dumb way to risk lives and spend resources now.
The Jedi Master
The anteater is wearing the bagel because he's a reindeer princess. -- my 4 yr old daughter
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