eargosedown
Forum Regular
Posts: 910
Registered: 12-04 |
Nah, it just costs a lot of money, and rovers are significantly (and I mean, EXTREMELY significantly) more cost efficient and useful. The truth is, until we have a reason to really go back to the moon in person (either for a resource that needs to be hand-mined, or simply as a political move to 'inspire' a populace) humans won't return there.
We have the technology currently to go to the only other 'somewhat livable' planet, Mars. Venus will incinerate flesh in an instant, Mercury is tricky because of temperature climates, and Jupiter is much further and has no solid surface we could land a human on (Some of its moons are viable though.) However, even with that technology, it would cost so much money to meet such a task that we, humans, would gain more scientific knowledge for the same price sending 15~ rovers--especially with workhorses such as the Curiosity rover.
That being said, there are huge obstacles still. The Saturn V rocket, used during Apollo, isn't produced anymore. The facilities that made the parts are no longer their. The equipment to make them is no longer there. Hell, a lot of people that knew how to make them with firsthand experience are no longer here. So, all of that would need to be replaced should we undertake such a mission to return to the moon.
With that in mind, our knowledge of the moon hasn't stopped growing. Check out the detailed mappings of the lunar reconnaissance orbiter for some cool pictures, and wikipedia for a quick rundown of some notable stuff. I think Sky & Telescope magazine actually put out a model globe recently that uses detailed bump-mapped prints of the moon, nifty if you're interested.
As for the topic at hand--I wrote up a long detailed post, but then Miss Sandy blew me and my power. Should have saved it. Anyways, the gist of it, is that this info is really cool and important in the sense that it confirms something that we long suspected to be there--planets orbiting just about every damn star, black hole, bigger mass object, etc out there. We really kind of knew they were out there, but having the actual proof and confirmation is such a huge step. Finding one in close proximity to us as Alpha Centauri is pretty cool as well, but I'd have been more surprised if one wasn't there, in all honesty.
Further, I had written a bit in detail, that basically amounted to the fact that it always tickles me when people talk about what it would take to get there, etc, currently. Interstellar travel is not feasible under current technology--and without a major physics breakthrough, it will likely never be feasible in a realistic timeframe. It's a sad and humbling possibility that the true fact of the universe is, we may never leave our star--and no species of life may ever leave theirs, unless there is a piece of the giant puzzle we've yet to discover. As it stands, discussing any sort of interstellar travel is a pipe dream. But that's fine, because our solar system is incredibly marvelous on its own.
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11-03-12 13:45 
