NASA’s Orion spacecraft reaches the moon, flying 81 miles above the surface

Re:NASA’s Orion spacecraft reaches the moon, flying 81 miles... by runarberg on Monday November 21, 2022 @12:45PM (#33695475)

I think you are right, but on a more abstract level. I don’t think it is the rocket per-se (people don’t care about the specifics of technology), but a lot of people are asking: “whats the point”.

We know what the point is with James Webb Space Telescope, we know that the point is with each successive Mars rovers. But the moon seems just so pointless. We’ve been there, there is nothing there. We’ve also seen how capable robots are in space, and we continue to be excited to see each generation of robots outperform the previous, bringing in new and exciting discoveries and confirmations. For the moon, there is nothing to be excited about.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:NASA’s Orion spacecraft reaches the moon, flying 81 miles... by natch on Wednesday November 23, 2022 @02:00AM (#33716063)

You’re making the common mistake of thinking that because you don’t see any good reasons, there are no good reasons.

One good reason is that the moon is a relatively close jumping off point for other operations and missions to other destinations. It has a great combination of ample space and very low gravity, so it’s (relatively, compared to earth) easy to get off of. So a fantastic choice for future bases, mining operations, labs, materials storage, and possibly manufacturing. It also has problems of course, which is well known.

You don’t have to accept this for it to remain a good reason to people in the know about the opportunities of developing beyond earth and the dangers of not doing so.

[ Parent | on HN ]