It's Been 43 Years Since Man First Walked on the Moon: Does Sending People Into Space Still Make Sense?

by deBrice Posted 2012/07/20 19:00:00

Related Topics: Space, Houston, Anniversary, Ticket, Humans, Astronaut, Americans, Flight, Space Program, Future, Drones, Space Flight, Astronauts, Co2, apollo 11, Kennedy

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What's Next?

More than likely, no more humans will be sent into space, at least not in the near future. We are now in the era of AI and Drone.

The Apollo 11 Crew

Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins
"We choose to go to the Moon"

On May 25, 1961, J.F. Kennedy announced his plan for an ambitious space program: The moon!
First Moon Landing

On July 20th 1969, two Americans, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, were the first human beings to walk the moon.
Mission Success

On July 24th, 1969, Houston mission control euphoria: The capsule returned to Earth, with three astronauts Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong. The mission was a complete success!
Appolo 13: "Failure is not an option"

The Appolo 13 issue with the air filter forces engineers to find a way to filter CO2 in the capsule with only what's available to the astronaut. Ultimately, they found a solution that saved those astronauts.
What's Next?

More than likely, no more humans will be sent into space, at least not in the near future. We are now in the era of AI and Drone.

It's Been 43 Years Since Man First Walked on the Moon: Does Sending People Into Space Still Make Sense?

624 votes
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	No, astronauts aren't a necessity anymore.	145 votes	23%
	Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.	479 votes	77%

Forty-three years ago, two Americans, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, were the first human beings to ever walk on the moon. But in today's space program, sending people to space isn't really a priority anymore, when drones and rovers can go farther, for a longer period of time and for a cheaper amount (one-way ticket instead of a round trip.) Do you think sending people into space still makes sense?

+30

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Franklin 2012/07/20 20:36:21

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

+7
and we need to start with a one way trip for the following .....
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More polls by deBrice

Jon Bergen 2012/08/26 02:45:33

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

For commercial, military, and political reasons, we are in space to stay. But there are other reasons, too: a defining characteristic of our species is that we are explorers.

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Cero 2012/08/13 17:25:35

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

If they want to go explore what is out there then we should support them

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JayLynx 2012/08/10 07:09:43

No, astronauts aren't a necessity anymore.

Those are the most pressing needs of the world:

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ehrhornp 2012/08/07 23:39:00

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

But it doesn't need to happen soon. I think unmanned space crafts are the way to go. They can happen quicker and less chance of loss of life. I would love the exploration of Mars and Europa and maybe a few other moons.

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dallasjoe 2012/08/04 19:58:30

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

But in the future as private Venture Disband NASA Now

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rcardon 2012/08/01 16:54:16

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

We can perform all kinds of automated experiments in space, but what happens if something fails? We just lost who-knows how many billions of dollars putting the thing into space, only to have it not work right, because a person wasn't there to fix it, or to perform the experiment manually.
A lot of manual jobs can be replaced by machines, but I don't think this is one of them. Machines can't "follow their gut" to search out something that might not have been on the agenda, but, ultimately, might prove of greater worth. Also, they can only hold a finite amount of instructions, so if they complete their instructions during radio blackout, they stop, they can't think for themselves and say, "Well, I just finished this, I can't radio home, but it seems this would be the next logical thing to do."

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RogerCo... to rcardon 2012/08/07 00:24:01

If it breaks, we launch a replacement. That is far far far less expensive than sending a human astronaut.

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toots 2012/07/31 13:40:15

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

Yes, but since Obama outsourced NASA to Russia, we can forget our dominance in space.

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RogerCo... to toots 2012/08/07 00:24:52

" Obama outsourced NASA to Russia"

???? I smell another RWNJ delusional fantasy.

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Bureauc 0webama 2012/07/26 04:44:41

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

China has set a date to put men on the moon and that's a trial run for a manned Mars mission. I guess 0bama plans to outsource.

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Michael 2012/07/25 18:11:57

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

There have been untold, uncounted miraculous discoveries made as a by product of the space program.

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AndyWolf 2012/07/25 13:31:38

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

" Our God-given curiosity will force us to go there ourselves, because in the final analysis, only Man can evaluate the Moon in terms understandable to other men. " - Gus Grissom

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Angryface01 2012/07/25 02:49:06

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

When people strive to do extraordinary things... they achieve them.

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golem48 2012/07/24 18:22:17

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

Astronauts should be sent to space, but liberal politicians belong on Uranus..

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Shadow 2012/07/24 06:57:23

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

Yes, i believe as long as there are places to explore we must explorer them, space included. Learning is part of being human and constantly learning new things is what separates us from the animals. There are vast amounts of knowledge in space exploration that we may or may not be able to capitalize on, but we will never know if we don't look.

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Irish little 2012/07/24 02:51:55

No, astronauts aren't a necessity anymore.

There is no way that we can go beyond the moon, And there is noyhing there.

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Lawnmowerman~PWCM~JLA 2012/07/24 01:14:44

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

It's one of the few things about this reality that DOES make sense. Humans are explorers, if we one day no longer feel the need, we may as well pack it in.

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Mike J. Hirak 2012/07/23 20:46:04

No, astronauts aren't a necessity anymore.

It's just a waste of money

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Larry 2012/07/23 15:24:04

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

be a good place to send all the Democraps, libbers

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FPSRules 2012/07/23 14:59:10

No, astronauts aren't a necessity anymore.

At this critical time in history with such unrest and uncertainty in the world, not to mention national bankruptcy, it doesn't make any sense whatsoever to spend multiple billions of dollars - that the government (read: tax payers) doesn't have - to take flights of fancy into space.

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Maura :) 2012/07/23 14:51:26

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

there are so many things that we have yet to discover

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Nilam 2012/07/23 14:23:48

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

humanity is so evolutionary behind its pathetic!

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michael 2012/07/23 14:16:18

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

Personally, I would LOVE to send my ex-girlfreind into SPACE so she can leave me alone!

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Brad # 2486547 2012/07/23 12:53:24

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

We need to be doing more. We need to build a moon base and we need to get to Mars. Humans are explorers and we need to get back to our roots and explore the final frontier.

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Tony 2012/07/23 12:30:48

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

Space probes are limited in their function. They can get to their destination only to realize that they are not designed to do everything needed at the destination. SO another one has to be sent. Send a person and he/she can adapt the mission parameters as the need arises and get more done in one trip.

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Hawkeye 2012/07/23 11:53:47

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

Absolutely.. The benefits of the Space Program have been FAR reaching and effective in making improvements in our own personal worlds as much as anything in History..

Ive seen changes in MY lifetime that would have taken generations to come about in any other era..

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A.Oscar 2012/07/23 11:36:25

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

The knowledge American have had in Space; should wait another 44 years, than for sure American will be Lunatics, in 1968 I assist of such propaganda, and today proved because of wars, men lie so much, start to be a professional lies in the government.

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ChumptyDumpty 2012/07/23 11:14:43

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

More than computers and machines (which are important, for Heaven's sake) the space must be explored by HUMANS

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Alfred 2012/07/23 11:03:29

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

Stop bombing sheepherders and goatherders and guarding poppy fields, and we could have used that money to go to Mars.

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Jewel 2012/07/23 10:13:39

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

I think it still something that needs to be done. Like saving the planet. hehe

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Ben 2012/07/23 09:56:56

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

Well even if you ignore the spirit of adventure, the history of so many great advancements being made because people wanted to travel further and faster than anyone before them, even if you ignore the advntages that a person has over a computer, you're still left with the biggest reason of all: Colonising other planets is the only way to guarantee the continuity of our species. If all humans are on Earth and something happens to the Earth, then we could go extinct. But if something happens to the Earth and we're spread out across several other planets, then our species survives.

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Maria 2012/07/23 09:13:07

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

come oon.. you can see the space.. the place that only fiew have seen in real life, and it is a place so big that you never know what you may find

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Heisenberg 2012/07/23 09:10:58

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

+1
Yes. Send me.

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deBrice to Heisenberg 2012/07/25 14:10:13

+1
I'm sure you'd get Mars to be fertile again ;)

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Heisenberg to deBrice 2012/07/25 17:18:15

+1
Insert Uranus joke here <>

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Ronzo 2012/07/23 09:04:39

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

Of course we should have a space program, however Obama is against that he would rather destroy the economy and make people dependent on government make people lazy programs. We need to be training these able body deadbeats. China is going to pass the USA with there space program, Obama is turning us into the final stage of a declining world people. I used to have respect for our level headed leaders but one has to look at the Harry Reid types and the Nancy Peloci types in positions they don't deserve, they are not leaders they are crooked with agenda's of deception. They both voted against cutting NASA and our Military.

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yogamartial 2012/07/23 08:54:58

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

It's all on who you let up there one day someone might repeat history and cut the thing in half is it made of cheese or what?

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2sly 2012/07/23 08:31:08

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

Absolutely

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Derbyhat 2012/07/23 08:07:12

Yes, there is no substitute to an astronaut.

How many of you want to send Biden or Pelosi into space?

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S* 2012/07/23 07:14:30

No, astronauts aren't a necessity anymore.

with all the advances in science, people only hinder spacecraft.

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