Countdown to the Moon

By the end of 2024 NASA is planning to have people on the moon as part of the Artemis program. We need to do more work getting the word out. CaneLee has not heard about it, but thinks it is exciting. Someday it might be possible for many of us to go to the moon. After a few people go and show that it is safe, he might consider going as well.

Lisa recently moved from Germany. She had not heard that NASA was sending people back to the moon in 2024, but Space Center Houston and social media are good ways to get the word out. She needs to find out more about why we are going to the moon before forming an opinion. Science could be a reason to justify it, but national prestige is not a reason to spend the money. She is not interested in traveling to space her self.

In less than 1795 days NASA will have people on the moon again. Opal thinks this is exciting, but she just found out about it from me. She knew that it was the 1970s since the last time we went and this is understandable considering how much it costs. But if it were safe and affordable, she would go.

Syed has not heard about NASA’s plans to put people back on the moon. He does not see the benefits. It would be better for us to invest the resources into something that we did not do 50 years ago, he pointed out. However he would go if he could… for the adventure.

They have not heard about NASA plans to put people back on the moon. They think it is a good thing and we’re surprised that money was what keeps us from going back. They think that NASA needs to get the word out on social media. (I see lots of things from NASA and others on social media. But these system are highly tuned to each individual interested. If you are interested in space, then you see space stuff. If you are not, then you don’t. To get the word out across interest groups requires person to person connections. Do the people in your like know that we are going back to the moon?). They would both go if they could.

Karastin had heard about NASA’s 2024 plan to land people on the moon. She is a geologist and is excited to see it happen.

“Did you know there is ice on the poles of the moon?”

“I didn’t!”

“The moon has a 1 degree tilt relative to the sun, and it has deep craters on the moon that have permanently shadowed areas that are colder than Pluto. Over billions of years comets and wet meteors have impacted the moon and water molecules have ended up in these regions and have been trapped.”

“Wow! I can’t believe I didn’t know that.”

“Well I don’t know who is playing in the super bowl, so we all have our own blind spots”

Within 1799 days we will have people walk on the moon again. And we will learn more about the water ice and how to extract it to help in our exploration efforts.

“We need to work on developing the character of humanity”. There are 1800 days between now and the end of 2024 by which time NASA has set the goal of landing people on the moon again. I talked to Rama about it. He thinks that we need to develop our character as a society. We should learn to get along with each other and to respect each other. “Technology has given us great capability but we have not developed enough to use it wisely”

Rama asked me what I thought was the best thing that space has given to us. For me it would be “perspective”. We are a mere speck in the cosmos. The universe does not revolve around the earth. Rather the earth is just one of billions of worlds.

Also, the world is not naturally divided between nations. It all flows together. We should work on making life better for all humanity.

Within 1801 days NASA will have people on the moon again. I talked to Orze today about that. Like 90% of the people I have interviewed, he had not heard about it. This is amazing considering that we live in Houston (literally the first word said from the moon during the Apollo program). NASA needs to do more to get the word out.

Orze is excited to see us going back. He would go if he could. He thinks it would be a great experience. He also thinks that it will have positive benefits here on earth.