If We Can Put a Man on the Moon, Why Can't We . . .

I don't quite understand what one has to do with the other. But seems like those that want the government to do everything and anything, that's a frequent catch phrase, "If we can put a man on the moon, why can't we . . .".

The first part should be enough.

WE PUT A MAN ON THE MOON!!!

(38 years ago)

And even though I wasn't even a month old, my mother swears I watched intently as it happened.

So to all those folks who use that as a beginning of a conditional phrase, or all those people who believe it was on a soundstage.

Screw YOU!

We put a man on the moon, and that's still pretty amazing, even more amazing still when you consider what technology was like in 1969.

We (and in this case, the 'we' shouldn't just be NASA, but private organizations and a coalition of USA, EU and Japanese backed concerns) should put lots a people on the moon before it has been 50 years since Neil Armstrong made his first steps.

By 2019 I'd hope a proper research station would be possible.

As a destination in of itself there may not be much there (potentially a great tourist trap, eventually), but as a proving ground for extended low-g living and finding the adjustments needed to live long term places other than Earth, it's a needed first step.

A dozen men having trundled on the lunar surface is too few, let's get that number up by 2020.

Also, I think they had a bit more fun on Apollo 12. Check out the PDF of the cuff check list (especially page 6 and page 11).

Those dozen should get a name check today, so here are links to each of their wikis.

Neil Armstrong (Apollo 11)
Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11)
Charles Conrad (Apollo 12)
Alan Bean (Apollo 12)
Alan Shepard (Apollo 14)
Edgar Mitchell (Apollo 14)
James Irwin (Apollo 15)
David Scott (Apollo 15)
Charles Duke (Apollo 16)
John Young (Apollo 16)
Harrison Schmitt (Apollo 17)
Eugene Cernan (Apollo 17)

Someday this list will be too big to fit easily in a single post, but for now, those are the twelve men that should be remembered today (and if you forgot why Apollo 13 is missing, rent this).