Lunar golf anyone?

Image courtesy of NASA

Today, July 20th, 2009, is the 40th anniversery since that footprint (left) was made by Neil Armstrong on the surface of the Moon. It is still there, 200,000 miles away. A footprint made possible by computers the size of a room, containing no more than 1/10 the power of the one I'm currently writing this on. People watched this feat, with a short delay. Glued to their televisions. As the late, space-enthusiast Walter Cronkite broke journalistic objectivity.

It was something depicted by the French Science Fiction film, "A Trip to the Moon." Of course, in 1902, those famous Wright brothers hadn't even taken flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. How absurd the French are! Predicting a capsular landing on the moon before a a fixed-wing plan had even taken off.

From someone who has visited the National Air and Space Museum, I can report that the Mercury Freedom 7II craft (below) was from my estimation, hastily built. Assuming some normal wear and aging, I also observed noticeable exposed wiring and circuit boards. This was indeed a legitimate "race" with the Russians. With political and propaganda purposes at stake, the goal was set by President Kennedy, a man on the moon by the end of the decade. In hindsight, it was perhaps a reckless undertaking.


Image courtesy of National Air and Space Museum

Following the Mercury and Gemini programs, Apollo was the program to ultimately put human footprints on the Moon. The culmination of years of research by brilliant individuals working for the impossible. (Some might argue it still is impossible.) The participants knew there was nothing that could ever possibly top this experience in human history. Fourty-five hundred years after the Sphinx was built in Giza, human civilization had advanced in understanding to the point of landing a craft on the surface of what was once thought to be diety, or barrier to the heavens.

When you ask people what news they remember, or where they were on certain days, this is certainly one of those days they remember vividly. My mom was watching the broadcast on a portable TV from the beach. People around the world squinted at their black and white TVs, anxiously anticipating history.

"I didn't believe it. Come on, Darren. They had computers the size of this room, and they had a video from the Moon?" mom said when I asked her. (Bear in mind, this is a woman who is a devoted Trekkie! We saw the new Star Trek twice!) I'll fully admit that she has a point, it is awesome to think about the distance, and the pure scale of it.

If we have advanced further technologically, then why haven't we gone back? Primarily it's been due to financial reasons. The space race was a significant chunk of change. I would argue that we didn't just land, take samples, and play golf (below). There were numerous technological advancements to come from the space race, beyond rockets, suits and landers. By pushing the limit of what is possible, we limited what is impossible.


Image courtesy of NASA

The U.S. has pledged to return to the Moon, by the year 2018. Stephen Hawking has been calling for extraterrestrial colonization by humans for years. "2001: A Space Odyssey", envisioned a space Hilton hotel, and regular travel to and from. Most recently the movie, "Moon", has renewed science fiction fan's (myself) hope that these current fictions can soon become realities.

In the larger sense, I believe it to be a human directive to explore and discover. Ever since the advent of science, humans have utilized a systematic approach to solving complex and harrowing problems. However, since 1972 we have been adrift on a sea of stagnation. Yet with a president who believes in the "final frontier", I hope we not only return, but reach toward a newer goal: Mars and beyond.

We are but a speck in a grandiose existence. In the largest sense, Humans are nearly infinitely small compared to what is out there. As humans, we worry about paying the bills, and doing menial tasks, but space is benevolent to us. It has been there extremely longer than we have, and will exist longer than anyone can imagine.


Image courtesy of NASA

I can personally imagine at some point in my life, as remarkable as this may sound, taking a picture identical to the one above. I may be an old man at the time, but I think I might be able to play a few holes of golf too. With 1/8th the gravity helping me, I think I can manage a par 5.