Most Americans who were of age when we landed on the moon can tell you exactly where they were at that historic moment. During the Mercury and Apollo missions, America was glued to the television, and television coverage was extensive. Today, we care more about what Britney Spears is doing, than what NASA is up to. The media almost never reports on NASA happenings. And, when Bush announced the plan to go to Mars, it wasn’t well received. The space race bestowed upon us a wealth of technology that we now us everyday; and, unlit lately, mankind has always been driven by exploration. What gives?
Discuss
Derek Thomas on January 19, 2008, 2:31 AM
Remember that during the 60s and 70s when this was all going on, it was new and exciting. Now it is old and to the majority of people uninteresting. We’re still building the same space station for the past decade. Eventually something new will come about and younger people will be interested again.
Matt Hanley on January 19, 2008, 1:50 PM
I see your point, but I thought going to Mars by 2030 was a pretty exciting thought. Still, the majority didn’t really jump on board, and the idea was kind of pushed under the table.
Personally, I think the new replacement for the space shuttle and our planned revisit to the moon is quite intriguing.
After we first landed on the moon, no one cared when we went back. So, we eventually stopped going back. We could have a colony of scientists living on the moon by now—for a space base that we could use as a jumping off point to Mars.
I don’t know. I just don’t get it. Europeans kept coming back to the Americas for hundreds of years. They didn’t just see such exploration as the “same ol’ same ol’.”
Aaron Vallis on February 12, 2008, 1:10 PM
Conservatism, plain and simple. Conservatives have an ``us or them`` policy when it comes to war, and so the only reason that America landed on the moon in the first place is because if they didn`t, then the soviet union cetainly would. After that, as some have said before me, people lost interest, seeing no point other than ``us or them``. Now, however, as China rises up and plans to land on the moon as well, the American government once again feels threatened by the encroachment of another country on what they believe to be theirs (space belongs to no one, by the way) and so, once again, wish to one up the other team not only by landing on the moon (again), but also by landing on Mars. What people have to realize though is that space does not belong to one person, and so I believe that such an immense effort as the landing on Mars is not economically or technologically viable for one nation. That is why, if we wish to reinvigorate the fascination of space not just in Americans, but everyone, the future of space exploration must be a joint, international effort.
Matt Hanley on February 12, 2008, 4:49 PM
MassEffect360:
I think that is an interesting assertion. An interesting viewpoint for sure. As a historian, however, I always hate to boil something down to such a narrow view%u2014not that that is right or wrong. Personally, I%u2019d enjoy another space race. I think things generally happen faster under competition. We have been building the international space station for years as a combined effort, and the progress is extremely slow compared with our advancements in the 60s and 70s. However, I was originally looking at the question from a social science/social apathy angle, rather than skeptical big government reasoning. Mainly, I was remembering out badly Bush%u2019s Mission to the moon was received a number of years ago, when his ratings were much higher. From what I gathered on the social plain, it was largely Democrats that were disinterested in the mission. So, I guess that might line up with your conservative theory somewhat.
Generally, though, I think American culture, maybe world culture, has lost its sense of adventure. The exploration mentality has largely disappeared.
On a side not, space doesn%u2019t belong to everyone. Space and will be broken down into government and private ownership. The same basic legal property theories apply. However, at present, most countries/people are not as interested. But, this will change as soon as colonization and natural resource rights come into place. No one used to care about the North Pole, but now the world is fighting over who owns what.
Timothy Johnston on April 16, 2008, 6:41 PM
Plain and simple, there’s no money in space exploration, only deficits. The space race between the U.S. and Soviet Union was a symbolic way to flex military, and economic muscle, but I think with only one superpower remaining, those days are over.
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