Re: Discovery Of Life On Mars Would Not Help Darwinist Cause


Michael Kent wrote:
In sci.space.policy Jordan <JSBassior2001@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

America is slightly to blame for this, I think. We went into Apollo
expecting and promising Lunar colonization; then Nixon pulled the plug
on the program and subsequent Administrations failed to renew the Lunar
colonization project.

What do you mean "we" Kemosabe?

Project Apollo was a battle in the Cold War, never about lunar colon-
ization. Kennedy wanted some impressive feat to beat the Soviets, but
the early Soviet lead in rocketry made most plausible goals an easy
win for the Communists. A planetary probe, a space station, and a
lunar flyby were all considered but rejected for this reason. I think
it was George M. Low who initially suggested a manned lunar landing.
At any rate, it was an ambitious enough goal that the huge Soviet
advantage in rockety could be overcome. Hey, if your opponent has
a one-mile head start, you don't challenge him to a two-mile race, you
challenge him to a marathon.

Unfortunately, many true-believers have latched onto the Apollo program
as some sort of first step to colonization. It never was.

The earliest reference to lunar colonization made by a US president
after the Apollo missions was by George H.W. Bush back in 1989. This
according to the section on 'Moon Bases', in the Chambers Encyclopedic
Guide on Space Exploration, 1992.


I think (but I'm not certain) NASA's official history "Space Station
Decision" covers this in the first chapter.


As part of closure to the space shuttle era, which included both HST
and ISS, going back to the moon was the next step.

Eric

Mike

.

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