Modern moonshot efforts emulate Apollo era

 

We are following in the footsteps of giants as we traverse the familiar landscape of the Cold War and the race to space.

I’ve just finished listening to the book “American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race” by Douglas Brinkley for the second time and am reminded at how very similar current affairs are to the time in the late 1950s and early 1960s when the Cold War was heating up between America and the Soviet Union and the impact it had on space exploration.

Now, more than 50 years after the last footprints were left on the moon, humans are once again making a return to the moon and advancing to Mars and beyond. It’s interesting to compare and contrast space activities then and now to see how incredibly similar the sociopolitical climate is between the golden and modern ages of lunar exploration.

Consider the comparisons:

• The 1960s and the 2020s are periods of societal unrest marked by racial strife, riots, and political upheaval.

• NASA and private space companies are developing new technologies for going to and from the moon.

• There is growing distrust between the United States and Russia (then the Soviet Union).

• Congress continues to grapple with NASA’s budget, a constant from inception to now.

• There is a space race, this time fueled by private space companies and other space-faring nations like Russia and China.

• Planned missions to the moon involve a cramped capsule and the basic concepts used in the 1960s, including orbital rendezvous and a lunar lander.

Consider the contrasts:

• Rather than competing with the Russians for dominance in space, Russia is breaking up with us after decades of space cooperation.

• Space exploration is no longer the exclusive dominion of governmental agencies. Private companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, Boeing, and many more are involved in sub-orbital and orbital activities, some with designs for lunar and Martian landers, all outside the purview of NASA. Some of them, primarily SpaceX, are partnering with NASA in the Artemis moon program.

• Other countries, including China, Japan, India, and the European Space Agency, are now operating in space.

• Rather than figuring out how to get to the moon and back, the United States is figuring out how to go to the moon to stay.

I find it hard to pinpoint exactly what motivated NASA to consider a return to the moon after half a century. I think it’s a combination of nostalgia from the 50th anniversary of the Apollo program combined with boredom after President Obama took away its favorite toy (the space shuttle), and the desire to go to Mars and beyond (although it’s unclear where or what “beyond” is).

Returning to the moon is a necessary step to test new technology and procedures for landing on another planet before we can hope to go to Mars and safely return. This is much like the Mercury and Gemini programs were necessary steps to prepare for the Apollo missions.

Unlike the white male dominated NASA of the 1960s, the agency today is much more diverse and NASA has vowed that the next crew to land on the moon will include a woman.

As a child of the ’60s, I feel fortunate to have seen mankind’s voyages to the moon, Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, Skylab, the space shuttle era, the International Space Station, and now the pending return of humans to the moon. I can only hope to see humans venture to Mars in my lifetime. I hope when they do that they will be cheered with as much fanfare and enthusiasm as the early NASA astronauts were.

Joe Southern is the managing editor of the Wharton Journal-Spectator and the East Bernard Express. He can be reached at news@journal-spectator.com.