Magnificent Desolation

Forty years ago today, men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon. They came in peace for all mankind. And over the next four years they continued to return and then.... nothing. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin (who is shown in the picture above) landed on the moon at Mare Tranquilitis (or the Sea of Tranquility) and became the first humans to have walked on an extraterrestrial surface. In doing so they fulfilled the goal that President Kennedy had set back in September 1962 when he boldly challenged the United States to land a man on the moon and return him safely to the Earth before the decade was out. There were many hurdles in the path to achieving that goal but the United States persevered and six months shy of Kennedy's deadline, the astronauts had made their way to the moon.

It's sad to think that after a handful of missions to the moon, the efforts that were undertaken were allowed to go gracefully off into the history books. I say it's sad because the inspiration that many took from seeing those early grainy images of men walking on the moon was what drove people to continue those explorations and fantasies in the hope of continuing those voyages. Shortly after the success of the moon landings there were plans made to launch flyby missions to nearby planets in the hopes of exploring and pushing the boundaries of our solar system. Indeed, plans had been drawn up for a spacecraft that would undertake a months long voyage to Venus in an attempt to orbit the planet and then return to the Earth. The possibilities existed but it was something that only interested a handful after reaching the moon.

It seemed that the possibilities and what was once considered science fiction could have become science fact but it apparently wasn't meant to be at that time. With the landing on the moon and the indirect benefit of having beat the communists (i.e., the Russians) to the moon meant that we had bragging rights. But why did it have to end there? Why did we have to stop the exploration of space with the visit to our neighboring moon? There are so many other places to visit within our own solar system, it seems a shame that we haven't visited more planets. Some make the argument that there hasn't been any real benefit to the space program but I beg to differ. Other than gaining a better understanding of the origins of our universe and our planet we also have seen benefits from the science that were pioneered during the space program.

Modern cell phones have more computing power than the computers that were aboard Eagle, the lunar lander that was flown on the Apollo 11 mission. But the development of such computing power wouldn't have been possible without the need put forward by the missions to the moon. There are so many other benefits to the research done in relation to the space program that it's almost impossible to point to many modern conveniences without seeing how they were originally used relative to the quest to go to the moon. But when that drive to explore the stars died down we appeared to become content in having what we have and not really looking to push the boundaries once more.

Some make the argument that besides having earned a place of honor at having 'beaten' the Russians to the moon we don't have anything more to prove by way of such an expensive undertaking such as what space exploration requires. True, the space program isn't a cheap undertaking but think of the benefits that arose from the program. Domestic companies and aerospace industries within the United States were challenged to create new technology that would allow men to travel the nearly 240,000 miles from the Earth to the moon. This meant so much money being spent but in turn also meant that there were many more jobs for the people involved in the industry. People in India talk about the 'brain drain' of people coming to the United States rather than working in India but I think that has happened here also. Rather than utilizing these 'brains' in this country the domestic development of technology has slowed.

Why will companies sustain these jobs if there is no driving force behind the country to encourage us into the stars. True, President Bush made a bold statement that he wanted to see Americans on Mars within a few decades but the challenege seems lukewarm given that the competition doesn't really exist anymore. Russia's space program has dwindled and continues only through generous support of the United States in their joint efforts in space. Other countries continue to contribute as well but with no one appearing to be close to being on the moon or anywhere else within our solar system in the near future there is very little drive. Markets that could be full of workers here in the United States are steadily laying people off becuase the interest lies in the development of weapons and/or technology meant to keep an eye on the Earth rather than the stars.

It's sad when I think about it. Buzz Aldrin referred to the vista of the Moon as being 'magnificent desolation' and since the end of the Apollo program, that is how it has remained. There has been no change further manned incursion to the moon and no plans for the near term really exist. Perhaps with the advent of the Chinese into the space-faring nations of the world there will be renewed enthusiasm for the space program. One can only hope. I mean what would have happened to the world if after Columbus's forays into the west (and subsequent 'discovery' of America) he and the rest of Europe would have been content to come out for a few years then remain. It would be a different place. I wonder how different the world would be today if we hadn't stopped at the moon but had kept going. I hope we get to find out one day soon.