If We Can Put a Man on the Moon, Why Can’t We Put a Man on the Moon?

Re:If We Can Put a Man on the Moon, Why Can’t We Put a Man o... by sillysaurus3 on Tuesday January 02, 2018 @01:18AM (#16050232)

Because it's awesome. :)

I mean, we burn piles of money just for fun. May as well burn a pile of money to put someone on the moon again. Doing it just because we can is a fine reason.

"Still got it!"

One tweak, though. Rather than forcing them to find a reason to go, i.e. gathering moon rocks, they should just let the astronauts play around. That's the goal. Go there, then turn on a webcam and romp around for a few days.

That would get the world thinking. And that'd be pretty cool.

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Re:If We Can Put a Man on the Moon, Why Can’t We Put a Man o... by Pigo on Tuesday January 02, 2018 @10:53AM (#16052519)

I wish more people were inspired by Gene Roddenberry's vision of an ideal human society. I know it's a science fiction pipe dream because we're always held back by the lowest common denominator, but if mankind moved past the need for acquisition and power all that would be left is working together to achieve goals that make everyone's life more meaningful. We have to wait for meaningful goals to intersect with acquisition and power.

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Re:If We Can Put a Man on the Moon, Why Can’t We Put a Man o... by TeMPOraL on Tuesday January 02, 2018 @03:06PM (#16055068)

I for one am in full cognitive dissonance about that. On the one hand, I understand how much of a pipe dream Star Trek is, and on the other hand, I strongly believe it sets a standard worth aiming for.

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Re:If We Can Put a Man on the Moon, Why Can’t We Put a Man o... by Pigo on Tuesday January 02, 2018 @05:54PM (#16056650)

I guess that's how I feel too. I would never preach this gospel, but I find it inspirational.

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Re:If We Can Put a Man on the Moon, Why Can’t We Put a Man o... by dawnerd on Tuesday January 02, 2018 @01:25AM (#16050262)

We already have good reasons though. Starters would be to prep a moon base and see how structures handle being constructed on the moon and how they fare.

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Re:If We Can Put a Man on the Moon, Why Can’t We Put a Man o... by olalonde on Tuesday January 02, 2018 @03:16AM (#16050621)

> That would get the world thinking.

It might get some baby boomers excited but I'm not sure about younger generations. It doesn't feel like an exciting, impossible mission today.

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Re:If We Can Put a Man on the Moon, Why Can’t We Put a Man o... by adrianN on Tuesday January 02, 2018 @08:25AM (#16051690)

The next step is of course a permanently inhabited base on the Moon. That feels like an exciting mission.

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