Technology Viewer

If you’ve listened recently to our podcast (The Happy Time Magic Hour), you’ve heard me gush over the American space program, specifically the Apollo 11 moon landing, which happened 40 years ago yesterday.

I just thought I would take the opportunity here to thank the astronauts from that mission (Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin, and Neil Armstrong), as well as all of the other astronauts, scientists, and technicians at NASA who made that historic journey possible. Not only did we land on the moon, we did it SIX times.

When the last moon landing occurred in 1972 on Apollo 17, I was barely one year old. So, obviously my memories of those miraculous adventures are from watching archival footage and historical films/documentaries (most notably the precursor film to the moon shots “The Right Stuff”, the fantastic ‘successful failure’ of “Apollo 13”, and the inspired and fascinating Tom Hanks/Ron Howard-led “From the Earth to the Moon”). Still, I remember people (especially children) being filled with excitement and pride when talking about space.

I was shocked to see Amazon.com running a special for the Hanks/Howard project. “From the Earth to the Moon”, a 12 hour Emmy Award winning mini-series is now on sale for only $10.99. I hope we have not become so apathetic about our history in space as to allow great pieces like this to be sent to the bargain bin. Hopefully though, you’ll take advantage of that sale and purchase it if don’t already have it in your library. It’s a great way to teach our youngsters about the Space Race.

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

Putting a man on the moon has to rank among the top achievements, scientific or otherwise of all time. Sadly, we’ve forgotten that sense of adventure and desire for exploration. Our limited manned space missions now are to attach bathroom modules to the International Space Station or to serve as cosmic UPS driver to deliver commercial satellites into orbit. What happened to that drive to see what was beyond, to explore the mysteries of the universe?

There is now a high probability that life once existed (or may still exist) on Mars, at the very least on a molecular level. That alone is reason to plan and execute new missions to Mars. It could answer one of the oldest questions out there; are we alone in the universe? Apparently, our government is not interested. I guess they’ve got other things going on.

In the race to the moon, NASA scientists were able to usher in technologic advances which impact our lives even today. Teflon, velcro, and personal computers to name just a few. The desktop/laptop you’re reading this article with right now would not have been possible if some NASA scientist 45 years ago hadn’t figured out how to shrink the room-filling computers of the 60’s into a size able to fit into a capsule barely big enough for three men to cram side by side.

What innovations and advancements could be possible if we were engaged in a race to Mars? One wonders if they couldn’t come up with an entirely new form or method of energy that could help us cheaply and cleanly power our homes just as they would a spacecraft bound for Mars (or beyond).

Thank you again to those involved in the space program that saw us get to the moon in 1969. Hopefully, this 40th anniversary will inspire us once again to reach for that final frontier.

…