Interested in Apollo... ?

[Ross365]

Some stunning images and a book I definitely want for Xmas https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-62662685

 

[daleyd]

I've just read that, very good

 

[Ross365]

Almost all the pictures from Apollo11 on the surface of the Moon are of Aldrin. He seemed to overlook taking more than the odd picture of Armstrong .

 

[daleyd]

Almost all the pictures from Apollo11 on the surface of the Moon are of Aldrin. He seemed to overlook taking more than the odd picture of Armstrong .

And Alan shepherd's golf ball!

 

[Ross365]

Yes; but Shepherd was known for being a "bit of lad", as we would say in the UK.

 

[marlinspike]

Almost all the pictures from Apollo11 on the surface of the Moon are of Aldrin. He seemed to overlook taking more than the odd picture of Armstrong .

Isn't it the case that the main camera used was a Hassleblad fixed in the front of Armstrong's suit? Which is why he isn't in the photos.

The whole space race thing is fascinating though. The courage of those guys, testing jets and rockets, then actually going to the moon - with less technology that you now find in a top end mobile phone. Like hand written computer code by Margaret Hamilton and her team. Incredible really.

 

[Ross365]

Isn't it the case that the main camera used was a Hassleblad fixed in the front of Armstrong's suit? Which is why he isn't in the photos.

Possibly...and possibly not. Aldrin so much wanted to be first man, and let everybody know it!!! But he's all we've got now, and after watching him throw that wonderful punch at that journalist who called him (and by implication, all the other astronauts) a liar, I'm willing to forgive and forget any of Aldrin's miss-deeds .

I heard for the first time recently, that Armstrong's death, after his botched heart surgery, was (finally) reported in the New York Times to have been judged an "unlawful death". The Greatest Pilot dies at the hands of the most incompetent medics. His family was awarded some compensation, but had to agreed to keep quiet.

 

[marlinspike]

I can recommend Moondust, a book about the space race astronauts and what became of them. I remember watching the moon landings as a small child and I had the Apollo badges as stickers on my bike, think they came free with something lol. It really was an exciting time for science.

Currently watching For All Mankind on Apple TV. It's a drama which imagines that the Space Race didn't end. Mostly fictional characters, but real ones like Armstrong and von Braun feature at times. It captures the '60's vibe very well and looks great, but I'm not grabbed by the story yet.

Edited to add:

It was also very sad how Yui Gugarin died. He was scheduled to test a new jet that everyone knew was too dangerous to fly. But if he didn't go they would make the next guy on the list fly it, so he flew, knowing the likely outcome.

Also, I collect vintage Russian badges. Some of the space ones are very cool:

 

[Ross365]

Yes, I have " Moondust". High on my list of good reads about the early years; "Flight" by Kris Kraft and "Failure is Not an Option", by Gene Kranz. However, the book that is really amazing is Norman Mailer's "Fire on the Moon" written at the time of the Apollo 11 flight. Mailer had no background in aviation or space, but was one of America's greatest writers and observers. NASA encouraged artists of all kinds to mark the Apollo 11 flight with some form of commemorative work, and that book was Mailer's contribution. A fantastic read!!!

Re the death of Gagarin, there seem to be a number of different stories in circulation about how it happened and I just don't know which I believe.

 

[Screwdriver]

Sending a man to the moon was an extraordinary event, full of extraordinary people.

Artemis, not so much. Nothing to gain, everything to lose.

 

[marlinspike]

Well it's quite interesting to think about current space programmes. I can see the scientific value in unmanned craft being sent to into deep space, from a knowledge point of view anyway. Is there any value in manned space flight and the space station? Or is it just a costly indulgence and status symbol? It does seem a bit nuts that India has a space programme and half the population in poverty.

 

[Screwdriver]

Artemis is sadly, an exercise in identity politics. Nothing more than that.

Meanwhile SpaceX are planning to set up a habitable colony on Mars. Private enterprise so not wasting public money. Probably cost a lot less than buying Twitter….

 

[Maker]

Is there any value in manned space flight and the space station?

If you're happy that a deep space probe is valuable just from a knowledge point of view, surely the ISS is too? It's a lab in microgravity, they're doing all sorts of experiments that can't be done on earth, and not just in the pursuit of pure knowledge either, there's lots of biological experiments developing cancer treatments, drug delivery, etc.

I'd agree that most other manned spaceflight is a bit pointless.

 

[Ross365]

If you're happy that a deep space probe is valuable just from a knowledge point of view, surely the ISS is too? It's a lab in microgravity, they're doing all sorts of experiments that can't be done on earth, and not just in the pursuit of pure knowledge either, there's lots of biological experiments developing cancer treatments, drug delivery, etc.

I know that that is what it's supposed to be doing, but what has the ISS actually achieved? I recall some time ago reading a report about the vast number of scientific papers that have been published on the data that has come from Hubble. Moreover, there is a mountain of data from Hubble waiting to be assessed. They'll probably still be publishing papers from Hubble data for a few decades.

At the start, there was talk about making new drugs and new materials in the micro-gravity of the ISS; if they have happened, then I have missed them .

 

[Bullet2012]

20 Breakthroughs from 20 Years of Science aboard the ISS

For 20 years, the astronauts aboard the International Space Station have conducted science in a way that cannot be done anywhere else.

www.nasa.gov

 

[Ross365]

Well, NASA's PR people are working hard. However, they could have included a list of (some) papers published on this work in established (peer-reviewed) scientific journals... but for some reason they did not . I have not read the whole article; does it contain a list of new drugs and materials that I can go out and buy? I'm not saying nothing has been done, I'm just very uncertain about what tangible benefits have been obtained and whether it has been money well-spent? Even if you could make a drug in micro-g to alleviate a serious medical condition, I'm not sure where that takes us? Such scepticism is probably related to one's age! I'd hit you if you said anything bad about Apollo.

 

[Bullet2012]

Just seen some of the images on tv
Also they are being exhibited at locations around the Uk and world

Exhibitions and Events — APOLLO REMASTERED

www.apolloremastered.com

 

[Ross365]

I see the event in Glasgow in late November is already sold out. Seems there is more interest in Apollo than I might have expected .