Chris OConnor wrote:Ant, I'm sure you felt our first trip to the moon was wasteful too. I'm sure you feel that much of scientific exploration is a big waste of time.
Can you not picture the possibility that one day we might need to branch off into other areas of our galaxy in order to keep our species from extinction? With all our eggs in one basic (Earth) a major global catastrophe can end our species for good, but not if we exist elsewhere is the cosmos. A lunar base is a stepping stone in the extremely long and complicated process of learning how to leave this planet and reach others.
Well youre wrong again, C.
The first lunar mission was a nice accomplished. However it was mostly done for bragging rights, which Im certain you are aware of.
After that, there was no practical reason to spend the money and time going back. Our resources were (and still are) needed elsewhere.
The costs of going back are enormous. Building a lunar base is even more expensive.
Why do that when we have pending matters here on earth that have enormous costs attached to them?
Why not dierect our resources where they are immediately needed (hunger and poverty) and wherr they are likely to be needed very soon (ie relocating The Pacific Island nations that will be ejected from their homes because of climate change, fresh water production, etc etc.)
There's no damn food on the moon. Why fly it up there when thousans of people here on Earth are dying every hour because they dont have it.
Prophecizing a global catastrophy to justify the spending to build some lunar base is 95 percent fantasy 5 percent waste. And that 5 percent is too wasteful and impractical at that.
Also, we dont know what the effects on the sensory and central nervous system would be in an utterly alien environment. Its not as easy as envisioning everyone living happily ever after dressed in space suits, living in radiation sealed igloos. How would that impact our species.
We are a very fragile species that is specifically designed (oops! Dirty word there!) for earth and its environment.
We cant get carried away in fantasy here just because science advertises we can do most anything.