Why haven’t we returned to the moon?

Day 131 / 365

In 1969, America won the space race by being the first country to put a man on the moon. It was a huge task, as you would have heard that the technology that went into the Apollo 11 mission was nothing compared to even the lamest smartphone that we have today. Yet only 12 people have ever walked on the moon, and that too in a 3-year span form 1969–72.

So why is it that we stopped trying to send more people to the moon, or to maybe establish a permanent base there?

It’s too expensive

Those space programs to send people to the moon cost a lot. Back then during the cold war, there was motivation to do them, to beat Russia. But today trying to convince the government to budget huge amounts of money just for space exploration is a tough task. And it’s something NASA has been struggling with for decades.

Changing priorities

Another thing that NASA has struggled with is switching priorities between going to the moon and going to Mars. Because the government pays them, they are the ones who get to decide what NASA should focus on. And the government switched the priorities to getting people to Mars a while back.

But the good news is that NASA is accelerating plans to get people back to the moon. And this time they want to do it in a sustainable way.

“This time, when we go to the Moon, we’re actually going to stay. We’re not going to leave flags and footprints and then come home to not go back for another 50 years” — Jim Bridenstine, NASA’s administrator

This post is part of my 365 Day Project for 2019. Read about it here

Yesterday’s blog — Why honey never spoils