Gary, we learned that it was possible to transport people from the surface of the earth to the surface of the moon.  People engaged in that mission learned how to do it.

It was important and useful to us as individuals to know that our nation had accomplished something that had never been done before.  That mankind, when he set his mind to it, could accomplish great things.  And that we as individuals might be able to achieve goals that might seem impossible.

Noel

Absolutely, I totally agree with you apart from the last sentence, and then the disagreement is only with regard to context.

Landing on the moon could not ever be achieved by an individual or even a group of individuals. Impossible without a collective approach and the result was glorious, almost miraculous. A shining example of what can be achieved in more easy going times. 

I guess the point I was clumsily making is that the idea of learning useless facts being a waste of time is possibly true if viewed from the context of the individual.

If viewed from the perspective of the human race as a whole then maybe there is no such thing as a useless fact. I can pass this otherwise useless stuff on to somebody else who may find it useful.

Through most of our evolution we haven't been able to write stuff down or use the internet. It would make sense that we have evolved an instinct to gather info regardless of it's immediate usefulness. We have the ability to pass it on as a gift or we can trade it to everybody's mutual benefit.......I guess that's what everyone does on this forum anyway.



 

 

Edited March 22, 20224 yr by GaryK
Clarity

27 minutes ago, GaryK said:

guess the point I was clumsily making is that the idea of learning useless facts being a waste of time is possibly true if viewed from the context of the individual.

If viewed from the perspective of the human race as a whole then maybe there is no such thing as a useless fact. I can pass this otherwise useless stuff on to somebody else who may find it useful.

 

That's an excellent point I hadn't considered. 

Now we better get back to Moon stuff before we get told off again. 

28 minutes ago, martin-w said:

 

Now we better get back to Moon stuff before we get told off again. 

My turn!   The reason for Topic titles is to help others decide if they want to join in on the conversation.  Otherwise there would be just one topic stating "General Conversation" with  about 4-5 thousand pages to read.  Please note that it only took 7 responses for this topic to take a turn towards what someone had to memorize for school.  It went on for 19 more replies before I requested to go back on topic.  There is really no problem if a topic goes in another direction for a short stint but please don't question when a moderator asks for it to return to the title.

2 hours ago, martin-w said:

Now we better get back to Moon stuff before we get told off again. 

Thwarted again.  I would have liked to comment on Gary's response.  Twice in one day I had replies ready but had to hold them back.  What am I doing here?

Noel

12 hours ago, charliearon said:

but please don't question when a moderator asks for it to return to the title.

 

It was reasonable to enquire why I would have thought. And now we know why. I'm not sure I get it to be honest because anyone joining the conversation can comment on the original subject matter, that's what I do if its obvious it's gone in another direction.

You're the boss though... so lunar stuff it is then.

Well, Starship is currently fully stacked and Mr Elon is saying to expect an orbital attempt in May. In addition, SLS has now rolled out. So whatever the "first tasks" are likely to be when they get to the Moon, we are somewhat closer to that eventuality.

As you can see from the NASA  Artemis PDF linked to, there are lost of lofty goals, lots of science and other important stuff related to establishing a long term presence. So no, they won't be bothering with Shepard's balls (if you'll pardon the expression)  or cleaning up astronaut poop from previous missions. 😀 What they will be doing, as Dave said earlier, is amassing the knowledge and expertise for a long term Moon presence and then using what they learn for the next giant leap... Mars!

 

Quote

With Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon, using innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before. We will collaborate with commercial and international partners and establish the first long-term presence on the Moon. Then, we will use what we learn on and around the Moon to take the next giant leap: sending the first astronauts to Mars.

https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/artemis_plan-20200921.pdf

When you watch the video bellow, it will be apparent what an incredible achievement this will be, not even considering a future Mars mission. Just building the Lunar gateway and a long term presence  on the Moon will be a phenomenal achievement. And we can look forward to the multitude of technological advancement we will benefit from and thousands of jobs it will create. 

 

 

Edited March 23, 20224 yr by martin-w