And we can't do it now...

[kengr]

2:54 PST 1972 Challenger Lunar Module launches from moon. Last man on the moon.

It'd take us as long or longer to go from where we are now to a manned moon mission as it took NASA from when Kennedy set the goal.

Comments

[seawasp]

I *really* doubt it would take longer. We have done it, we know how it was done, and we have learned a great deal since then. If we were willing to expend a proportionate amount of effort to go there, I think we could do it just as fast or faster.

[stickmaker.livejournal.com]

OTOH, given modern materials and manufacturing methods and experience in design, we could build a BDB (Big Dumb Booster) which was cheaper, safer and more capable than the Saturn V.

While I hate that we haven't gone back yet, we did need to stop at or soon after Apollo 17. There were too many close calls. There should have been a time out to upgrade the designs and plan a detailed and prolonged exploration. Instead we got massive budget cuts and the STS (Space Transportation System, aka the Shuttle) which should never have been more than a test and development vehicle for the *real* Shuttle design.

NASA currently uses under 1% of the total federal budget and is doing, well, okay. The new booster they're developing is close to the BDB I described above, but more elaborate. Unfortunately, both NASA and the current administration have been both vague and inconstant in their plans to use this resource.

At a time when we need vision - for far more than exploring space - we're getting bigotry, mediocrity and Idiocy.