The moon has been hanging over our heads since before anyone can remember. It is there taunting us, wanting us to dream. As for going and living on the moon. That has also been a dream of those that love science, those that want to explore and maybe even those that want to just get away. As for me, I am amazed on how little energy this country has to exploring. We are so focused on just living that we refuse to dream of the possibilities. This is at odd with our current state of affairs. At no time in history have people had it so very good. Today, our definition of poor are those that cannot afford cable TV, internet, and designer shoes.
Yet, today our spirit to explore the vast beyond is so very tempered. In most conversations about space travel or moon bases, people retort that it is a waste of money. We should spend that money on feeding the poor or educating the children. We should not be explores for economical reasons. As a person that is not hungry, cold, or wet I can comfortably disagree with such logic. I can reflect back on all the things that exploration brought to humanity. From the technology that powers today's society to the stories that entertain us our evenings. It would seem that exploration should be a passion of our species.
Beyond the economical reasons there are also political issues that get in way of such great ideals. If one party wants space travel it becomes a drum that the opposing party will beat on how those that fund such activities are wasting tax money. It does not matter which of the two parties has the vision for a moon base the opposing party will use the idea as against them. It is political.
The technology promise book forecast a permanent moon base by 2028. Maybe it is possible. But maybe not in our current economic times. I would love to see this change. How neat would it be if this could spark the scientist in all of us. Maybe it create a new generation of kids that dream of science, exploration, and engineering. This would be a vast departure from our dreams today. We dream of being rich but without direction. We dream of be famous but without purpose. Can this change? Yes, I believe so, but I don't know how.
Robert
I agree with you on a lot of your points made here. I also think that maybe having a permanent moon base by 2028 is a bit inaccurate, especially with, as you mentioned, with the economy the way it is. Although it will be really cool to have, I think 2028 is a little too soon. As you mentioned, we are really not that eager to spend money on this type of exploration just yet.
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