To think millions of litres of fuel shouldn't be wasted on sending a rocket to the moon

I disagree, I think we are on a pathway to future space exploration
No other species knows that they are on a planet, with billions of other worlds out there, so its down to us to explore, how amazing if we actually get to visit some of them
Watching the latest moon trip reminds me there are humans striving for great things in our world
Maybe you should stop watching all the negative news and look around you for more positive stories

Did you quote me in error? I don't understand what you mean.

Which of my arguments can you logically refute? What do you think will happen? Based on our current progress into space, how long do you perceived it will take us to get human beings far enough into space to realistically build a sustainable environment on another planet?

What are you, with your superior intellect, imagine this is going to look like in the (very) long term the poster I was replying to referred to?

What do you think is so important about our species, other than the fact that we quite like existing, that means we shouldn't fall prey to the same fate countless other species have when their environment changes faster than they can physiologically evolve to cope?

Give me some science, show me your thinking, your understanding, your thoughts processes beyond second-rate science fiction. Give me some clue of your superior understanding.

A 'lol', and an assertion that I am astoundingly stupid isn't really doing much to disabuse me of the idea that this has far more to do with political showmanship than a realistic plan to save the species.

OK smartarse.

What colour would you make it ? 😀

I was astonished at your stupidity

What an astoundingly brilliant argument. I am now totally convinced of our species' vital importance to the universe

I'm really enjoying the all-female commentary and communications this evening. What a night for women in STEM.

Lol

If nobody is around to know, why does it matter? We've barely been here five minutes in the great scheme of things. I really don't understand the mantra that it's so important that our specific species lives on for millennia.

You can bet nobody is going to suggest taking creatures we don't find useful with us, so there's going to be millions of species that will disappear.

What is so vitally important about us as a species that we survive? Given the mess we have made of this planet, I have little hope that if we did find another home that could sustain our life without us needing to rely on a lot of tech, we'd look after that one any better.

In just the time since we have been here, how many species have become extinct? We are just another species. We are no more likely to survive forever than any other, especially given how much our survival beyond this planet will depend upon a very small handful of people. The species who have already greater longevity than us are simpler organisms that have been able to physically adapt to their surroundings.

We can't build, or tech our way out of this environment with any hope of permanence. Apart from anything else, given that this latest mission hasn't really got us much further than we went in 1969, we aren't progressing fast enough towards reaching a habitable planet, or one we might be able to build an artificial environment on to beat the effects of the changes happening here on us as a species.

There's too much change happening too quickly. If it makes people feel better to faff about trying to build an ark, fine. But let's not kid ourselves we are on a pathway to eternal survival every time a rocket goes up. We really aren't.

Being that you posted on a topic you couldn’t even be bothered to research before forming an (uneducated) opinion, I am guessing you have little understanding of why this mission is important or why the ISS is important. Spend some time on the NASA website and expand your mind.

I am astounded at how my five year old knows more about space compared to the majority of internet posters.

I find it fascinating and I'm watching the flyby now - however it does make me appreciate our home on the Earth even more when I watch this kind of thing. We are very lucky to have our lovely planet.

I think people who don't see the point in space travel should ask themselves what future generations of humans may want.
The Earth won't be hospitable to life forever, regardless of climate change etc, and one day it won't exist at all and will be swallowed up by the sun.
In fact our solar system won't exist.
Do we just let everything end without even trying to explore further. No one will be around to know we even existed at all.

These small steps today build the foundations for future space travel, way way in the future, you might not care or see the relevance but it is amazing what we are working towards, think hundreds and thousands of years ahead, what do we need to do now to build towards that future.

Yep, this. And don't forget that space is to be the new tourist destination, apparently. Jet2 for the Uber rich.

I do love the stunning pictures that come back, but nobody needed to physically go to get that.

I'm now imagining the rockets in the 80s having cupboards full of glasses...
When I first moved out of home, all my glasses were Esso collection ones from my parents stash, lol. Mind you, my Dad got me a Walkman in the late 80s using tokens, and I was still using it into the 2000s.

Global industrialists want to mine other planets for rare metals and minerals. Dictators want to set up heavy armaments on the moon to take over the world. The mega rich are hoping that when this planet is totally buggered, they'll be able to live on another "Earth". Thing is, there is no planet B, so when this one is uninhabitable for humans, that's it folks! But it's more attractive to all those people to try and make it in space than to try and save what is being destroyed down here.

You could get a brand new airfryer with the Esso points you'd get.

Keyboard experts

As comedienne Sarah Milligan said "Only problem with women on the moon that I see , is no takeaways or shops..." 🤣
"Probably be bored after two hours and go and watch The Housewives of New Delhi back in the luna lander!" 😂😂😂

Obviously she's joking. They are already thinking about an all female mission to Mars as ladies are small & needy less supplies etc.

It's amazing . We've got live feed from the mission on two big screens on the office wall at work. They are normally for zoom calls and stuff or testing adverts etc. Couple of our bosses are huge space nuts.

If 2028 goes ahead, it will happen then. I think this crew are the basis of that expedition, all excellently qualified and experienced, but obviously things change. Pretty certain there will be at least one woman though.

Bit of a spurious argument, though, when you consider the things that were invented before space travel, without which space travel itself could not have happened.

The origins of all those inventions you mentioned are rooted in much earlier technological advancements. Actually, a surprising number of the Inventions commonly attributed to NASA were not, in fact, invented for space travel. Space travel was where they found a purpose, yes, and it can be argued that NASA's development was a springboard for wider use, but in fact, the primary reason NASA (and, of course, other space programs) have developed the technology is that they had the money to do it. It would be nice to think that the further development of water filtration systems would have come about because the huge investment put into going into space had actually been redirected into funding the development of such systems for those without a clean supply on earth. We didn't need to go to space to do it, the ideas were already there, it's just not quite such a showstopping thing to pour tonnes of money into, is it?

Well that was never going to happen during the Apollo era for all sorts of reasons that people have argued about for decades.

There was no subsquent programme that would have provided that opportunity up until now.

On a happier note you can pretty much bet your house on it being a woman taking the first steps on the first actual Artemis landing mission, planned now to be Artemis IV, supposedly flying sometime in 2028.

They should have made the effort to put a woman on the moon.

This has not happened yet !

Sure it’s a small % overall, but they’ve just spunked $2-3B on a moon launcher that will not be used. It was to launch large payloads to the moon and now they’ve decided to send smaller payloads. The subcontractor building it got the news last week to stop.

for context to provide free school meals for all in my state would be $40m.

that kind of waste is infuriating.

Why would there be oil on the moon? Oil is made from dead animals/algae/bacteria. There is no evidence that animals/algae/bacteria have ever existed on the moon