DISQUS

Patrick E · 5 months ago

Funny that we both posted at about the same time LOL

AustinRoth · 5 months ago

Those of us who are old enough will never forget the absolute feeling of awe at the fact that we had landed men on an object that wasn't Earth. I was only 8 at the time, and certain that by the time I was a grown-up (you know, 16 years old or so), everyone wold be flying around the solar system.

While that has not come to pass, nothing will ever take that memory and emotion away from me, that feeling that Man could conquer the Universe.

Unfortunately, I do not feel that way anymore. Adulthood and education robbed me of the innocence that physics can be overcome by engineering - engineering can only work within its limits. So, mass-less propulsion, transporter beams, FTL and time travel will remain closed away from us.

DLS · 5 months ago

Also at that time, before and as of the lunar landing (though interest quickly subsided after this landing; only the emergency generated substantial public attention to Apollo 13), we were already anticipating, for example, undertaking a manned mission to Mars, typically anticipated in 1976 (at a particularly favorable time for such a a mission given the orbits of Earth and Mars).

http://beyondapollo.blogspot.com/2009/04/manned...

"Adulthood and education robbed me of the innocence that physics can be overcome by engineering"

Well, consider also the innocence or unrealism related to the ambition that here on Earth as well, at that time, it was felt we could do anything; we felt that way (optimistic) routinely until we faced the Arab oil embargo and the "energy crisis," followed by inflation as well as innocence lost about government and about politics in the 1970s.

newsfanatic · 5 months ago

I was just watching a video about this at http://www.newsy.com/videos/moonstruck_40_years... and according to them the original tapes were accidentally erased (?) so they're actually working from post-broadcast copies.