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Am I alone in finding this return to the moon underwhelming?
Seems to me little more than a high tech reprise of the relatively low tech mission by Apollo 8 all those years ago in 1968: regress rather than progress.
Quite prepared to believe that my cynicism is due to having been there ‘the first time around’ with cherished memories of the Apollo program still vivid; ones formed during a generally optimistic period in history, so perhaps I should let the younger generations who weren’t there enjoy their few days of wonder during these generally pessimistic times while I just grouch away in private.
Anyway, I hope the mission is succesful and the astronauts return to this pale blue dot safely.
Is it a Trump vanity project? I don’t understand why they keep trying to find a way for us to live on Mars when we have the most beautiful planet that could possibly exist anywhere and we’re destroying. As for the astronauts, as someone that suffers greatly from claustrophobia I don’t know how they can do it. Just realised watching the news that they’re not landing on it, just flying round it.
“Am I alone in finding this return to the moon underwhelming?”
I tend to agree. Apollo 8 was one of the greatest moments in human history. And even though it was perhaps a more optimistic time, a large part of its emotional impact was through being at the end of a turbulent year in America (Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy assassinated) and in the rest of the world (the Prague Spring crushed). Jim Lovell, a great man who we lost last year, said he later recieved a letter which read “Thank you Apollo 8. You saved 1968”.
As for establishing a colony on Mars, I have always thought that is a pipe dream. Aside from the amount of time it will take to get there, how would it be built? And would people really be able to live there, so isolated from everything they have ever known? I think it would be catastrophic for the mental health of anyone who volunteered.
Good luck to the astronauts. I wish them a safe voyage and return but nothing they can do will ever match the achievement, significance and beauty of Apollos 8 and 11.
“I don’t understand why they keep trying to find a way for us to live on Mars when we have the most beautiful planet that could possibly exist anywhere and we’re destroying.”
You’ve answered your own question.
Is it a Trump vanity project?
Vanity or not, he initiated and signed-off on the Artemis Program in 2017 during his first term, with its goals being a moon landing by 2028 and the establishment of a permanent base during the 2030s.
Permanent bases during the 1980s was the forecast after completion of the Apollo project
I well remember the Apollo 8 mission, which is what Artemis II is replicating, as it took place over Christmas 1968 during the school holidays.
Remarkably, three more Apollo missions took place over just the next 6 months: Apollo 9 into earth orbit to test systems during March, Apollo 10 for the second orbit of the moon during May, and the historic moon landing itself on Apollo 11 during July.
A sleepy juvenile Drone managed to keep his eyes open until 4am when Neil Armstrong finally emerged to take his ‘one small step’. The last week of summer term at school followed and nothing much seemed to be taught, just incessant wide-eyed chat about what we’d all just witnessed.
Great days
To be perfectly honest I wasn’t really aware of the mission until I happened to see the 24 hour countdown on the news last night.
Apparently a number of firsts amongst the crew which contains a female member, an African American and a Canadian.
Jim Lovell, a great man who we lost last year, said he later recieved a letter which read “Thank you Apollo 8. You saved 1968”.
Wasn’t aware of that quote from Lovell, thanks
I’m sure Trump is hoping that a moon landing does happen by the planned 2028: “thank you Artemis. You saved my presidency”
After Apollo 8, Mr Lovell was, of course, the Commander of the ill fated Apollo 13. He is the only man to have flown to the moon twice without landing.
When the film “Apollo 13” was made with Tom Hanks portraying Lovell, director Ron Howard had the nice idea of offering Lovell a cameo. He played the naval officer who greeted Hanks when he was picked up after splashdown.
Lovell had been a captain in the US Navy. Howard suggested he should play an Admiral, to lend the role a certain dramatic gravitas. Lovell would have none of it. He put on his old captain’s uniform and said “I retired as a captain and a captain I will be.”
It was a measure of the man. In an age that isn’t making many of them, he was a true American hero.
“He is the only man to have flown to the moon twice without landing.”
You obviously don’t know enough drug addicts.
Jim Lovell, a great man who we lost last year, said he later recieved a letter which read “Thank you Apollo 8. You saved 1968”.
Wasn’t aware of that quote from Lovell, thanks
Another quote for the Artemis 2 crew from Jim Lovell today, “Welcome to my old neighbourhood.”
He was aboard Apollo 8 and 13 both orbited the Moon, but Apollo 13 was suppose to land. It was one of Our finest hours (Mankind, that is). By repurposing stuff from what they were designed to do, to what they could (in theory) do. As Ron Howard’s Apollo 13 film demonstrates. Jim Lovell passed away in 2025 at the age of 97.
This is a test flight and Man is scheduled to return on Artemis 4 in 2028. Yes I was around in 1968 but can’t say I took much notice of Apollo 8, but did for Apollo 11.
I believe the flight is taken 10 days to complete, and even though you might say Apollo mission took 3 days to fly to the moon and back, this is using less fuel. The boosters I believe were from the Space Shuttle missions.
You've got to accentuate the positive.
Eliminate the negative.
Latch on to the affirmative.
Don't mess with mister in between.Did anyone else watch this as a child? https://youtu.be/R2JC8FHWL_c?si=qeu5Mpzg9Upzv_7k
There were three series. Pathfinders in Space, Pathfinders to Mars and, my favourite Pathfinders to Venus. We used to act it out in the school playground. Cheesy as it was it also aimed to be educational. I think it might only have been shown in the midlands.
Don’t recall those series though have just watched the video you supplied. Amusingly innocent and cheesy indeed viewed now but can understand its popularity back then.
To the moon in cable-knit sweaters and cavalry-twill trousers: yes
Meanwhile, the hideously attired Artemis II crew are returning from their voyage to boldy go slightly further than man has been before
Safe landing all
Did they have the Guinea pig in that one Drone? I’ve got several of my ex’s childhood books by (I think) Angus McVicar. There was something so charming about space travel back then. But I still shudder at the thought of that poor dog that was sent into space. And any thought of what’s happening now sends my claustrophobia into overdrive. Having had a blocked sewage pipe at home for a few days recently was even more horrified to hear that their toilet system wasn’t working! “doesntbearthinkingabout
Dunno about the guinea pig as I fast-forwarded through the video stopping for intermittent snippets.
Laika was the dog fired into orbit, on a Soviet Sputnik in 1957. She died quite soon into the mission but the vessel completed over 2,000 orbits before breaking up in 1958.
I think the first animals to go into orbit and return to earth alive were two monkeys in 1959, aboard an American Jupiter rocket.
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