NASA’s Apollo Obsession And Artemis
The Moon
NASAWatch
Keith’s note: I just listened to the speeches from Rice University on the 60th anniversary of President Kennedy’s “Moon Speech”. Yawn. Going to the Moon during Apollo was a pivotal point in human history. But the Apollo Generation lived in a different world. NASA needs to stop looking back and instead look at the world as it is and listen to the Artemis Generation – instead of preaching old history at them. – More below.
11 responses to “NASA’s Apollo Obsession And Artemis”
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Agree 100%. NASA needs to do a deep dive on what’s working and what’s not. Also, the cost effectiveness of various programs need some scrutiny. Benefits are hard to measure since There is no $ figure on say Ingenuity. But maybe some sort of survey of the public could be a way to determine interest and therefor effectiveness. SLS would come out poorly, obviously. I as my non-space friends about SLS and Artemis and most don’t even know it exists.
Unfortunately we have to realize that today’s NASA is nothing like the NASA of the 1960s. Fifty years of growth, sloth, and politics have taken their toll.
Always looking back and reminiscing on what they did instead of looking forward and dreaming of what may yet come to be How do you connect with the younger generation when you are so focused on an event that happened way back in their grand parents generation. We need to recognize returning to the moon if going to be far different than how it was done 50+ years ago. The world is changing and the agency needs to find ways to better tap into that to inspire and energize the kids.
Far different.
F is still equal to MA last I heard.
Physics hasn’t changed, but the technology of today is very different.
I don’t mind them commemorating Kennedy’s speech. It was a great speech and a great achievement. But NASA today is not the NASA of 60 years ago. It is not even the NASA of 20 years ago. If anyone makes it back to the surface of the Moon it will be because of the efforts of entrepreneurs and private industry. All we can hope is that NASA does not interfere too much.
Most of the Artemis Generation can barely put down their cellphones, watches reality TV, and could care less.
I am quite tired of folks forgetting about the generation that is still here, trying to make things happen IN SPITE of all the politics and other shenanigans.
I thought it was interesting that one of the NASA exhibits at the Kennedy Rice commemoration was a large model of the Artemis 3 Moon landing, depicting the Space X Starship with 2 suited crewmembers. There was nothing about Space X or “Star Ship” in the display that I saw.
Was that somewhere on the Rice Stadium grounds? I wasn’t there and only have the video NASA produced of the event and posted to YouTube. I skimmed the whole thing, and the only depiction of a landing on the moon, right after the speaker was talking about the first Artemis (III) landing on the moon, was of the “National Team” ziggurat design (you know…the design made by Northrup, Lockheed and Blue Origin who lost and sued their way back into the program).
(Link to YouTube set to the moment I’m talking about: https://youtu.be/LtnkOLqpdN… )
Did anyone sit through the whole event? I know there were allusions to work being done “in Texas” but was the name SpaceX even mentioned? Without Starship–and by that I mean both the HLS and Tanker versions–and a well-proven Superheavy booster, is there any hope of Artemis III landing in 2025 or anything close to that?
Remember: 3 years ago was 2019. In January of 2019, SpaceX had not even launched an unmanned Crew Dragon, the first Starship prototype had not yet begun assembly, and only the first couple Starlink test Satellites, Tintin A & B had been put in a rapidly decaying orbit. In January of 2019, SLS was already 2 years late for its first launch.
I guess I sound like a SpaceX fanboy at this point, but I’d like to think it is because I am frustrated at NASA being so beholden to it’s “Old Space” buddies, that they can’t seem to accept SpaceX being any part of NASA’s future, when, likely, it will be a vital and critical partner in their future successes.
While I agree that it’s the future that should be inspiring us we have to remember that we haven’t been to the moon in 50 years. Imagine if the world watched the Wright brothers first flights then no one else flew for 50 years!
In the 60s we had the Gemini and early Apollo flights broadcast on tv and NASA made it understood that this was all in preparation for landing on the moon. That’s also why once we landed on the moon interest in space flight dropped immediately.
Artemis / SLS / Orion has been all promises with no action. SLS is 6 years late using modifications of 40 year old technology! When there is something for youth to start imagining we may start exploring again there is hydrogen leaks and sensor issues so that dampens the excitement. Even Artemis is 40 year old technology implementing a 60 year old plan. The only thing NASA has right now is “Glory Days”, when it was the center of the US competition with the Soviet Union, getting all the attention and a lot of the money.
If you want to inspire the youth of today lay out a true plan for manned exploration of the solar system with reasonable timelines. Make it a joint venture with Europe, Japan, India and private enterprise. The problem with that is the American political system is only focused on the next election.
The biggest problem with engaging the Artemis Generation is that they aren’t the ones controlling NASA’s budget. The Apollo Generation members of Congress do, and too many of them are only interested in lining their own pockets, so that’s where the marketing is aimed: At the grifters in Congress. That doesn’t go over well with the the public, so it’s all done behind closed doors. Between that and the inevitably underwhelming results, the public loses interest.