Moon Landing??

Question

Back when man landed on the moon we were in the space race with the Soviet Union so I can see why NASA was in a big rush to beat them and why some believe the moon landing was a hoax. But if we really landed on the moon back then, when our knowledge in technology was a lot less then what it is now, then how come we haven't gone back to the moon? and How come NASA has so many problems with space shuttles now? I know NASA did the whole Mars thing but even that was rocky. Does anybody know of any shows or movies on this?

Answer 1

You are right, the rush to moon was solely based on the need to beat Soviet, there wasn't much of scientific value in landing a human on the moon, all the science data needed can be got through robotic means, since the end of the cold war, the competitor is gone, and the US has lost the incentive to spend big money on projects that are seemly wasting money (and because most people are too short-sighted to see the incredible potential value behind space exploration), that's why they continue to use the already too old shuttle, but since China entered the field of human space travel, the US is rightfully feeling the pressure, unlike Russia, China has A LOT of money, and they are willing to spend it on space project, that's why NASA and the administration want to go to mars, building a base on moon is the first step toward landing a man on Mars, that's a lot more difficult than sending over two men there, walking around for a few hours and going home, this time, the consensus among scientists is that this time, the trip to moon must have REAL scientific values, that's why it's difficult and that's why they have so many technological problems, and don't forget the all important issues, the money.

Answer 2

Look at Apollo 13. This mission would have been a footnote like the others after Apollo 11 had there not been the problem with the oxygen tank heaters. A lot of people didn't care. The networks didn't care. There was Vietnam also going on that was a drain in many ways to the nation. Read the book done by James Lovell, which was originally titled "Lost Moon" and retitled "Apollo 13" after the movie.

If they had continued the push that the "space race" produced we may have had a colony on the Moon now, or even had been able to land on Mars in the 80's. Even so, there may have been setbacks, since the Apollo program even had problems (Apollo 1 fire, Apollo 13) and I'm sure seeing where the management problems in NASA that have surfaced then been fixed then surfaced again would slow progress. But we'd be a lot further than we are now.

Answer 3

Going back to the moon: No reason to go back until now...with the planned manned missions to Mars, a moon base would be helpful

problems with the shuttle: there have been 2 accidents with the shuttle, often called the most complex machine ever built, in over 100 flights. the Apollo program had 2 accidents in 12 manned missions. The fact that the shuttles were destroyed in full view of all the world, and that 14 souls were lost on those missions, makes it seems so much worse. The Apollo accidents occurred during a test on the pad (Apollo 1 - that claimed 3 lives) and in space - Apollo 13 which miraculously returned safely with no margin for error.

Answer 4

We haven't gone back to the moon for many reasons:
1.) Been there, done that
2.) A large part of going to the moon in the first place was to beat the rest of the world there. Once we did that, there wasn't as much to worry about.
3.) The cost for space missions is incredibly high. At this point, the funding is going to other projects that are currently deemed more important.

NASA has been having so much trouble with the space shuttles since most of them are older machines. It costs so much to make a space shuttle that they have been reusing the ones that they had.

-Some articles/ books to look at:
-http://www.jamesoberg.com/myth.html

Bad astronomy : misconceptions and misuses revealed, from astrology to the moon landing "hoax" by Philip C. Plait

-The Moonlandings : An Eyewitness Account by Reginald Turnill and Buzz Aldrin

-http://spacecraft.ssl.umd.edu/design_lib/NASA-SP6107.Mars_DRM.pdf

Answer 5

You're asked too many questions at once. We haven't gone back to the moon because nobody wants to pay for it. The space shuttle is a lot more complicated than the Saturn rocket. To return to Earth, the astronauts in the Saturn rocket just used a parachute and splashed in the ocean. The space shuttle lands much bigger and needs a good runway.

Answer 6

Congress said that since we beat Russia to the moon that there was no longer a need to return to the moon past Apollo 17. The only show that details the lunar land missions and the steps it took get there is From The Earth To The Moon available on DVD.

Answer 7

The reason we have not gone back is that it is just too expensive and dangerous and nobody (well, almost nobody) cares anymore because we beat the Soviets already, which was the REAL goal of Apollo.

The HBO miniseries "From the Earth to the Moon" is now out on DVD and I highly recommend it. You can rent it quite cheaply at Blockbuster. A great on line resource is the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal.

Answer 8

NASA is having problems because they now are operating under a restricted budget, so everything is being built by the cheapest bidder, using the cheapest materials, and the cheapest labor. And, as a cost-savings measure, the shuttles are being asked to fly long beyond their design expiration date, so they're wearing out from old age.

Our knowledge isn't less than it was before -- we're just trying to do things more cheaply, and we're getting what we're willing to pay for.

Answer 9

The Discovery show casting aspersions on moon landing was farfetched. As to why there had been landing after 1967 the simple answer seems to be that for the prohibitive costs involved in the project it may not be worth repetition once we were convinced that we could do it and we did it.Now India is poised to undertake the venture in the near future.Unless this was physically possible a country like India with hardly any resourced to squander would have undertaken the expedition. Russia also appeared to have lost interest in following USA because of the growing economic problems.

Answer 10

There are many opinions on the moon landing. some say its a hoax and some say we really did land. i personally think its a hoax. in pictures there is no stars, and everyone knows that there are plenty of stars.also there are pictures of the flag waving in the "wind"....sorry but there is no wind in space.