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| 61. Author: Dandy Warhol Date: Wed 8th Apr 2026. 20:37 hurricane_jimmy, Wed 8 Apr 19:32 So if the tech has progressed, why haven`t we then? I`m honestly intrigued as to why we`ve gone from having buggy fun uo there to only being able to go round it, to an extent i got an answer right enough. I don`t wanna go down like disco. Reply |
| 62. Author: ipswichpar Date: Wed 8th Apr 2026. 20:48 It is a fascinating paradox, isn`t it? We carry more computing power in our pockets today than the entirety of NASA possessed in 1969, yet we haven`t set foot on the lunar surface since 1972. To put your mind at ease: **No, the moon landings were not fake, and no, technology hasn`t regressed.** In fact, we are technically more capable now than ever. The "why" comes down to a mix of politics, risk, and the sheer lost art of specialized manufacturing. ### 1. The "Will" vs. The "Way" (Politics & Budget) In the 1960s, the Apollo program was fueled by the Cold War. At its peak, NASA received roughly **4% of the entire federal budget**. Today, NASA’s budget hovers around **0.5%**. * **Then:** It was a "Space Race" against the Soviet Union. Cost and safety were secondary to national pride. * **Now:** Deep-space missions must compete with social programs, defense, and infrastructure for funding. Without a "race," the urgency evaporated. ### 2. The Lost Infrastructure While technology has advanced, **industrial knowledge** can actually expire. * **The Saturn V:** We have the blueprints for the rockets that went to the moon, but we no longer have the factories that built the parts, the specific alloys used, or—most importantly—the thousands of technicians who knew how to hand-assemble those specific engines. * **Analogy:** It’s like trying to build a Victorian-era steam engine today. We understand the physics, but we don`t have the specialized foundries or the "tribal knowledge" of the workers who did it every day. ### 3. Safety Standards In the 60s, NASA accepted a high level of risk. The Apollo 11 crew had a significant chance of not coming back. * Today, our **tolerance for risk is much lower**. Modern spacecraft (like the Orion capsule) are designed with vastly superior life-support and safety systems. Building things to be "100% safe" takes significantly longer and costs much more than building them to be "hopefully safe." ### 4. The Proof of the Landing The idea that the landings were faked is a popular conspiracy, but it falls apart under scrutiny: * **The Rocks:** Astronauts brought back 382 kilograms (842 lbs) of lunar rocks. Geologists worldwide have confirmed these rocks have chemical signatures impossible to find or "fake" on Earth. * **The Reflectors:** Apollo 11, 14, and 15 left "retroreflector" mirrors on the surface. To this day, scientists can bounce lasers off them to measure the distance to the moon. * **The Witnesses:** At the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union was tracking our signals. If we had faked it, they would have been the first to scream it from the rooftops to embarrass the U.S. ### The Good News: We are going back. We haven`t "lost" the ability; we are simply rebuilding it for a new era. NASA’s **Artemis program** is currently underway to put humans back on the moon—this time to stay. The first uncrewed mission (Artemis I) successfully orbited the moon in 2022, and crewed missions are scheduled for the coming years. We aren`t just going back to plant a flag; we’re going back to build a base. Do you think the move toward private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin will make these lunar missions more sustainable than the government-run programs of the 60s? Reply |
| 63. Author: P Date: Wed 8th Apr 2026. 21:10 You missed the ‘why’ - there are no meaningful assets there so once the race was won what would the point have been? Now there are new broader objectives wildly beyond the capabilities of those who achieved incredible things at the time. It’s really not that deep a mystery 🤷🏻♂️ Reply |
| 64. Author: Jeffery Date: Wed 8th Apr 2026. 21:27 If it was made of gold, oil, diamonds, or cheese we would have been back. Reply |
| 65. Author: widtink Date: Wed 8th Apr 2026. 22:33 What ????? The moon isn`t made of cheese ???? Well that`s ruined my night. 😀 Admin  Reply |
| 66. Author: twin par Date: Thu 9th Apr 2026. 00:59 Watch the video on you tube by Richard Feynman,says it all really. Reply |
| 67. Author: hurricane_jimmy Date: Thu 9th Apr 2026. 10:05 Dandy - simply put, the development of technology and computing power has been nothing short of exponential in the 50 years since we last went to the moon. With greater complexity comes the need to test things far more thoroughly than before and this requires both greater manpower and finance. As others have stated, going to the Moon or Mars is more a soft power thing than anything else but with further exploration, there may come a point when there are some economic benefits such as minerals etc. Plus the fact, in Democratic Nations there is a proper mechanism for accountability in a way that doesn`t exist in China and didn`t exist on the Soviet Union, who didn`t/don`t have QC to anywhere near the same standards as the EU, US, Canada, Japan, Korea Taiwan etc. In the Soviet Union, if memory serves correctly, Sergei Korolev died at a very critical point during the Space Race and prior to this he had a beef with another engineer who was developing the fuels for the rockets, mainly because he didn`t believe the type of fuel to be powerful enough and also that engineer was the one who had had him sent to the gulag during the war. They never recovered from his loss and could never develop a fuel not an engine powerful enough to get their moon mission going. China certainly has the resources to build the rockets etc that are needed, but if you consider the fact that they were not able to produce their own advanced tooling machines that could make the ball in a ballpoint pen until about 2017, then that gives you an idea of the technical gulf that still exists. If they were to put a mission up there that failed, it would be a massive loss of face and they know they wouldn`t get away with it because NASA and ESA would certainly both be monitoring very heavily and such a failure could carry very heavy consequences for the political system, as many Chinese are aware of the rampant systematic corruption that exists there. Fun fact: they don`t even give their people Universal Healthcare despite being "Communist" and they are on the cusp of a massive demographic decline. They have certainly made strong advances in battery technology and AI, but I suspect the EU, US and Mercosur will soon start combatting their markets being flooded with sub-par Chinese goods in order to protect local companies, which will REALLY damage their economy as it`s very export driven. In short, the CCP (and Xi in particular) have really fumbled the ball as they`ve maintained the system too long instead of opening up. This is what happens in autocracies when loyalty to the party is valued above ability - Xi didn`t even graduate primary school. For that reason, I think we`ll see the Chinese Space program fizzle out unless there is a change in the system soon. I digress though, it is great to see Space Program regaining interest and I hope ESA, NASA and others team up and get things moving properly. Reply |
| 68. Author: Dave_1885 Date: Thu 9th Apr 2026. 12:20 Theres a great bit in Apollo 13 that probably sums up one of the reasons they haven’t gone back in so long… When the crew are about to broadcast to the nation, the viewer numbers are low, very low. Why? Because the public were already bored of the moon landings as it had already been done. It wasn’t until the explosion that the public became interested again. Wether or not the events portrayed in the movie were fully accurate is a mystery, but maybe gives a small indication, along with the price of it, as to why they stopped. Reply |
| 69. Author: AdamAntsParsStripe Date: Thu 9th Apr 2026. 13:44 Dave_1885, Thu 9 Apr 12:20 Was watching Apollo 13 documentary last night and that’s pretty much how it played out to be honest. The movie did a great job. Zwei Pints Bier und ein Päckchen Chips bitte  Reply |
| 70. Author: Dandy Warhol Date: Thu 9th Apr 2026. 18:04 I won`t put quotes as they are too big, however i appreciate the lengthy responses above. I`m not trying to be obtuse or funny, i genuinely haven`t shown any interest in these sort of things until they come up again. Again cheers, i kinda get it now. I don`t wanna go down like disco. Reply |
| 71. Author: buffy Date: Sat 11th Apr 2026. 00:08 Since I watched them go up I might as well watch them come doon. Due to splash down approx 01:17 ~ they’re currently 7600 nautical miles above earth over Australia. ”Buffy’s Buns are the finest in Fife”, J. Spence 2019” Reply |
| 72. Author: Bletchley_Par Date: Sat 11th Apr 2026. 00:19 Bring em home fair ship Artemis.  Reply |
| 73. Author: Paralex Date: Sat 11th Apr 2026. 00:48 If you are interested in Greek Mythology and references to Artemis, read Acts chapter 19. The amphitheatre in the account is still there in Ephesus. A good name but Artemis wasn`t as powerful as she was cracked up to be but maybe the current moon mission won`t live down to its name. Reply |
| 74. Author: buffy Date: Sat 11th Apr 2026. 00:52 That’s another subject I’d love to learn more about, Paralex. I’ve been to the Greek islands for holidays and their mythology has always fascinated me. ”Buffy’s Buns are the finest in Fife”, J. Spence 2019” Reply |
| 75. Author: buffy Date: Sat 11th Apr 2026. 01:10 A perfect splashdown! ”Buffy’s Buns are the finest in Fife”, J. Spence 2019” Reply |
| 76. Author: da_no_1 Date: Sat 11th Apr 2026. 02:17 At 1.07 GMT exactly as predicted. Phenomenal stuff "Some days will stay a 1000 years, some pass like the flash of a spark" Reply |
| 77. Author: buffy Date: Sat 11th Apr 2026. 02:46 A post on Facebook has me in fits of giggles “The recovery team should have dressed up like apes from Planet of the Apes to really mess up the astronauts” 😂 😂 ”Buffy’s Buns are the finest in Fife”, J. Spence 2019” Post Edited (Sat 11 Apr 02:50) Reply |
| 78. Author: Andrew283 Date: Sat 11th Apr 2026. 05:28 Dandy Warhol, Wed 8 Apr 20:37 Space race then, no race now. It`s that simple. Reply |
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