Today marks the 54th anniversary of the moon landing. In retrospect it has almost unanimous support and adoration in the US: pleasing the left as an example of the power of public funding and the right as a triumph of the capitalist west against the
I guess this is the part where consequentialism comes into play. For the amount of money and resources put into the moon landing then, what tangible benefits have come out of it today?
Offhand, I'd say the computer you're using right now is a tangible benefit of the space program. A lot of the research into integrated circuits was funded by NASA and the military; even more development was driven by NASA purchases.
Look at it the other way - if we spent the Apollo money on social programs, what tangible benefits would we have gotten?
In my opinion, the 1969 Moon landing was an event that was supposed to occur in the 21st Century, not the 20th. The was clawed into the 20th Century only though the full industrial and scientific might of the United States.
That is also why it wasn't a sustainable endeavor. This time around, with China and the US returning to the Moon, what matters is this time is who can acheive a sustainable presence.
Is it true that only 3% of the 13 colonies population, fought in the Revolutionary War?
In 1961, a 65 year old was born before 1900. If they were astute enough, they might remember, the Wright brothers First flight! Just how much innovation, can one endure in one lifetime.
Louis can we really blame them? The US government spent hugs sums of money on the Apollo program. And while I think we can all celebrate the achievement, history proved that it largely was a waste. It was so expensive that the benefits couldn't be justified beyond a few visits.
I know that's going to upset some, but here's the good news. Reusable rockets, like SpaceX Starship and Blue Origins New Glenn will be a lot more capable at a fraction of the cost. Next time we go…I hope we stay.
A future of humans living and working in space is far for inspirating than one where we are confined to Earth.
I guess this is the part where consequentialism comes into play. For the amount of money and resources put into the moon landing then, what tangible benefits have come out of it today?
Offhand, I'd say the computer you're using right now is a tangible benefit of the space program. A lot of the research into integrated circuits was funded by NASA and the military; even more development was driven by NASA purchases.
Look at it the other way - if we spent the Apollo money on social programs, what tangible benefits would we have gotten?
In my opinion, the 1969 Moon landing was an event that was supposed to occur in the 21st Century, not the 20th. The was clawed into the 20th Century only though the full industrial and scientific might of the United States.
That is also why it wasn't a sustainable endeavor. This time around, with China and the US returning to the Moon, what matters is this time is who can acheive a sustainable presence.
So how do people feel today about the rightness or wrongness of spending all that money to put men on the move and get them home?
Is it true that only 3% of the 13 colonies population, fought in the Revolutionary War?
In 1961, a 65 year old was born before 1900. If they were astute enough, they might remember, the Wright brothers First flight! Just how much innovation, can one endure in one lifetime.
Louis can we really blame them? The US government spent hugs sums of money on the Apollo program. And while I think we can all celebrate the achievement, history proved that it largely was a waste. It was so expensive that the benefits couldn't be justified beyond a few visits.
I know that's going to upset some, but here's the good news. Reusable rockets, like SpaceX Starship and Blue Origins New Glenn will be a lot more capable at a fraction of the cost. Next time we go…I hope we stay.
A future of humans living and working in space is far for inspirating than one where we are confined to Earth.
Because the Moon manned landing was posturing for posturing's sake, with little sustainability or benefits beyond "we stuck it to Soviets"?