40th Anniversary of Apollo 11 Moon Landing Is This Week

[stopbush]

Blast off was on July 16, 1969 with the first moonwalk occurring on July 20, 1969.

Surely, this was one of man and history's greatest accomplishments...that is, unless you're one of those who believe the whole thing was faked...

[NightWatcher]

1. we got to the moon in 9 years last time, but now it'll take 20 years???

I mean, it's not like we've advanced at all or in the last 40 years.

Call me crazy but I dont believe we landed on the moon.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

3. OK, you're crazy. -nt

[stopbush]

6. We have a bit more regard for the lives of astronauts than we did back then.

There are concerns that need to be addressed upfront these days that were ignored or not even imagined back then.

We have advanced tremendously. The entire computer system on the Apollo flights had no more computing power than today's $5 pocket calculators.

Yes, you're crazy if you think we didn't land on the moon, and did it repeatedly. Should I assume you're in the "science is just a guess" crowd?

[hfojvt]

13. we are not spending money at the same rate for the two projects

I remember as a kid watching Presidential candidate George McGovern on TV saying that the space programs was a waste of money. I became a Nixon supporter after that (not that I got to vote anyway). That was a kick at my sacred cow.

[MicaelS]

18. You're definitely crazy. n/t

[leftstreet]

2. Why do you do this?

:shrug:

[stopbush]

7. Why? Because I think it's an event that one should take note of

on it's 40th anniversary, yet I haven't seen squat mentioned in the media or on DU.

I'd like to think that DUers are at least as interested in the men who actually walked on the moon as they seem to be in a recently deceased pop star who did what he called a moonwalk.

Maybe not.

BTW - the line about the moon landing being faked was just a throw-away. I expected a few chuckles. What I got was candidates for the ignore function.

[dysfunctional press]

4. will they be taking the lunar-landing set out of cold storage in arizona to celebrate?

http://stuffucanuse.com/fake_moon_landings/moon_landings.htm

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

5. They did not get the moon's consent to land on it.

And, since the moon is female, it was rape.

:crazy:

[Hell Hath No Fury]

8. I remember watching that as a kid --

the live shots were so grainy and contrasty, I could barely make out what was going on. The entire family was sitting around the TV watching. It truly was a national event. Back then, my Nana used to wake me up to watch the rockets take off -- after the first few, I remember wondering why the heck she was waking me up to watch what I had already seen several times. :D I am very glad she did, though.

Thanks for the reminder! :hi:

[stopbush]

10. I was visiting relatives in Asuza when Armstrong walked on the moon.

We were living in Ohio.

Now, I live in OC, CA...and my hometown in Ohio has lost so many jobs that it looks like the surface of the moon...

[timeforpeace]

9. Government will never be able to afford something like this again. Feed the planet first.

[stopbush]

11. More's the pity:

Top Ten Scientific Discoveries Made During Apollo Exploration of the Moon


1. The Moon is not a primordial object; it is an evolved terrestrial planet with internal zoning similar to that of Earth.

2. The Moon is ancient and still preserves an early history (the first billion years) that must be common to all terrestrial planets.

3. The youngest Moon rocks are virtually as old as the oldest Earth rocks. The earliest processes and events that probably affected both planetary bodies can now only be found on the Moon.

4. The Moon and Earth are genetically related and formed from different proportions of a common reservoir of materials.

5. The Moon is lifeless; it contains no living organisms, fossils, or native organic compounds.

6. All Moon rocks originated through high-temperature processes with little or no involvement with water. They are roughly divisible into three types: basalts, anorthosites, and breccias.

7. Early in its history, the Moon was melted to great depths to form a "magma ocean." The lunar highlands contain the remnants of early, low density rocks that floated to the surface of the magma ocean.

8. The lunar magma ocean was followed by a series of huge asteroid impacts that created basins which were later filled by lava flows.

9. The Moon is slightly asymmetrical in bulk form, possibly as a consequence of its evolution under Earth's gravitational influence. Its crust is thicker on the far side, while most volcanic basins -- and unusual mass concentrations -- occur on the near side.

10. The surface of the Moon is covered by a rubble pile of rock fragments and dust, called the lunar regolith, that contains a unique radiation history of the Sun which is of importance to understanding climate changes on Earth.

http://www-curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/lunar10.cfm

The science that came out of these missions has directly impacted our world for the better.

The solution isn't to end exploration to feed the hungry. It's figuring out how to do both at the same time. If we as a people can't figure this out, then we have little chance of accomplishing either.

[azmouse]

12. k&r

It's a shame how little attention this story is getting.

[RagAss]

14. Basically, it was the last great thing to happen.

Been all downhill from then.

[johnnie]

15. I remember seeing it. I was almost 4 years old

My dad worked at NASA Lewis research center and it was a big deal to us as kids. I now work there and it is called Glenn Research Center. They are talking about the 40th there now and having a special thing at the Visitors center there on Saturday.

[hfojvt]

16. that makes it ten years since my trip to New York

there I was driving through Ohio on Highway 30 and I heard on the radio about the 30th anniversary of the moon landing and about a museum in Neil Armstrong's hometown of Wapakoneta http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wapakoneta,_Ohio

Pulling over I noticed that I had driven just north of Wapakoneta about thirty or forty miles back. If I had known I would have swung down there, but it seemed like too much time out of my trip to go back. Kind of stupid of me not to have known that. Of course, I had to google it just now because I have forgotten the name of the town.

[Apollo11]

17. I was just a baby

Less than 5 months old at the time. But I remember reading about the Apollo missions when I was growing up in the 1970s. I also got excited about the Viking landers sending back pictures from the surface of Mars and the Voyager probes taking a close look at the outer planets.

It kind of made sense to go to the Moon in the context of the Cold War. A better idea than nuking Moscow.

Now I wonder if I will live to see humans walk on another planet (Mars).

In some ways it would be a huge waste of money. But it would also create jobs and I don't object if resources are diverted away from WMD.

It would be cool if a manned mission to Mars would be done as a pan-global cooperation project.

If it would lead to better relations between the USA, China, Russia and Europe then why not?