NASA takes first step toward landing on the moon.

[muwarrior69]

https://nypost.com/2022/08/23/nasas-moon-rocket-artemis-1-go-for-launch-after-final-review/

If successful we may have a new generation of Astronauts on the moon by 2025. I can remember the excitement when Apollo 8 circled the moon in 1968, then the landing in July '69. In the fall of '69 I got to shake the hands of all 3 Apollo 11 astronauts when they came to Marquette to accept the University's award for outstanding exploration. In a way it was the highlight of my time at MU.

[Uncle Rico]

https://nypost.com/2022/08/23/nasas-moon-rocket-artemis-1-go-for-launch-after-final-review/

If successful we may have a new generation of Astronauts on the moon by 2025. I can remember the excitement when Apollo 8 circled the moon in 1968, then the landing in July '69. In the fall of '69 I got to shake the hands of all 3 Apollo 11 astronauts when they came to Marquette to accept the University's award for outstanding exploration. In a way it was the highlight of my time at MU.

Lol, we never landed on the moon.  Do the research

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

The NASA tour is one of the coolest thing I've ever visited.  I loved the recreated 1969 moon landing where the control room actually shakes from the rocket launch and the actual audio from the day.

Seeing a rocket launch is on my bucket list.  I get NASA reminder emails all the time announcing the "launch window".

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

IDK, it seems to me like we stopped going there because there really wasn't much reason to go. And now we are going back because NASA wants to revive the glory years.  I'd rather send up more telescopes and probes.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Keep sciencing.

Despite sultan's proclamation to the contrary, I'm pretty sure that Nasa is looking to use the moon for a extra-Earth base station.   Especially with the ISS running out of useful life.

[tower912]

A better title would be NASA wants to return to the moon.    Moot point.   It Is good to endeavor to greatness.     I hope they can find a way.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Keep sciencing.

Despite sultan's proclamation to the contrary, I'm pretty sure that Nasa is looking to use the moon for a extra-Earth base station.   Especially with the ISS running out of useful life.

I will freely admit to not understanding this completely, but I really don't understand the need for an "extra-Earth base station." So we can go to Mars more easily? Great. Why are we doing that though?

[lawdog77]

I will freely admit to not understanding this completely, but I really don't understand the need for an "extra-Earth base station." So we can go to Mars more easily? Great. Why are we doing that though?

Pretty soon Earth will just be one giant sh!tstorm, so we need a new place to destroy

[Uncle Rico]

Pretty soon Earth will just be one giant sh!tstorm, so we need a new place to destroy

I don't think it's fair to Mars that we destroy that planet as well but they'll probably have more water than the southwest in a decade or so

[Jockey]

I will freely admit to not understanding this completely, but I really don't understand the need for an "extra-Earth base station." So we can go to Mars more easily? Great. Why are we doing that though?

Agree. What would be the point? It would give a 2-3 day head start on going to Mars. Why?

[NCMUFan]

I have to believe the Fed Gov will go completely bust before they have the funds to ever get back in space.

[Pakuni]

[ATL MU Warrior]

The NASA tour is one of the coolest thing I've ever visited.  I loved the recreated 1969 moon landing where the control room actually shakes from the rocket launch and the actual audio from the day.

Seeing a rocket launch is on my bucket list.  I get NASA reminder emails all the time announcing the "launch window".

Curious where this tour was?  I've been to NASA facilities in Cape Canaveral, Houston and Huntsville and can't recall seeing this.

[MU82]

Lol, we never landed on the moon.  Do the research

Elliott Gould, James Brolin and OJ Simpson know you're right about this.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Curious where this tour was?  I've been to NASA facilities in Cape Canaveral, Houston and Huntsville and can't recall seeing this.

Cape Canaveral.  I want to say in 2018 or 2019 after they finished some major renovations on site.
Control room was put together exactly as July 1969 including a sweater on the back of a chair.

More on the same NASA visit when I don't have to type on my phone.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

I will freely admit to not understanding this completely, but I really don't understand the need for an "extra-Earth base station." So we can go to Mars more easily? Great. Why are we doing that though?

It's a superior vantage point from which to bomb Earth.

[jficke13]

Agree. What would be the point? It would give a 2-3 day head start on going to Mars. Why?

It's not time or distance, it's launch mass savings.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsiolkovsky_rocket_equation

Going to Mars will take lots of ship (mass) and fuel for trans-Martian-orbital-insertion maneuver (more mass). Launching from earth means fighting earth gravity for every kg you send up the well. Using a lunar base station that can access lunar ice and refine fuel means you fight the 1/3g of lunar gravity to refuel before continuing to Mars and thus have significantly lower costs.

[cheebs09]

This one is for my fellow millennial posters.

https://youtu.be/Qswd5cCblAg

[MU82]

We just want to get to Mars to check on the potato crop.

NASA needs to remember to pack the sour cream and chives.

[dgies9156]

Cape Canaveral.  I want to say in 2018 or 2019 after they finished some major renovations on site.
Control room was put together exactly as July 1969 including a sweater on the back of a chair.

More on the same NASA visit when I don't have to type on my phone.

I live 50 miles south of the Cape and have been there several times. The shaking control room is indeed cool. The displays are great and the tours of the launch pad are incredible.

Best part of seeing many of the exhibits is the docents are the engineers who worked on the specific vehicles. Sadly, many of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo engineers have died but there still are lots of Space Shuttle engineers who can talk about the intricacies of operating and building the shuttle.

Strongly recommend a KSC tour. But not on a launch day as the best things may be closed.

Also, Florida's beaches are a great place to watch a launch. As is the roof of the Mansion in Melbourne. We went there one day when a party of NASA engineers gathered to watch the satellite fly overhead. Was a great experience!

[dgies9156]

We just want to get to Mars to check on the potato crop.

NASA needs to remember to pack the sour cream and chives.

And bacon!

[NCMUFan]

I thought Mars was known for its cheese.
https://www.marscheese.com/#

[ZiggysFryBoy]

It's not time or distance, it's launch mass savings.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsiolkovsky_rocket_equation

Going to Mars will take lots of ship (mass) and fuel for trans-Martian-orbital-insertion maneuver (more mass). Launching from earth means fighting earth gravity for every kg you send up the well. Using a lunar base station that can access lunar ice and refine fuel means you fight the 1/3g of lunar gravity to refuel before continuing to Mars and thus have significantly lower costs.

Sultan > Tsiolkovsky. 

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Sultan > Tsiolkovsky. 

???  He was responding to Jockey.

I understand why its easier to go to Mars from the Moon rather than from Earth. I just don't understand why we are sending humans to Mars - or even to the Moon. We have the capability to send probes and rovers.  We are even proposing to retrieve some samples. Which is really cool.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_sample-return_mission

[jficke13]

???  He was responding to Jockey.

I understand why its easier to go to Mars from the Moon rather than from Earth. I just don't understand why we are sending humans to Mars - or even to the Moon. We have the capability to send probes and rovers.  We are even proposing to retrieve some samples. Which is really cool.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_sample-return_mission

Honestly I think the only reason to send humans to the moon or to Mars is because we can and as a species we tend to want to explore or for sort of amorpheous geopolitical bragging rights. As a practical matter the potential benefit to society is either extremely long future (becoming a multi-planetary species ala state of affairs in Book 1 of the Expanse) or because NASA doing hard stuff tends to devolve to society in ways that don't really involve a direct benefit from boots in moondust. Planting a base at the southpole of the Moon before China does keeps our USA USA USA streak going, and there's a soft power type of benefit there.

Also, people get all rabble rabble rabble about STS costs and NASA budgets when in reality they're a rounding error on a rounding error to the federal government. If I had one wish it would be to give NASA enough money that running out of engineers to do missions becomes their rate limiting factor.