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The Race to Develop the Moon

newyorker.com

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Re: The Race to Develop the Moon

#31

Post by gumby »

eesmith wrote: post #19

Article: "Watching the footage of Neil Armstrong’s first steps, it takes a moment for one’s eyes to make sense of the low-resolution image" As I understand it, the problem wasn't the video feed, it was the re-transmission for the global TV audience. The original video was then lost. Quoting from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1200161/Apol... : > Nasa believed they might contain electronic information…

> "Watching the footage of Neil Armstrong’s first steps”

That famous footage (literally, in both senses of the word) was of Aldrin’s first steps: Armstrong had already exited the LEM, made his famous statement, and then used a camera to film Aldrin’s descent and steps.

Re: The Race to Develop the Moon

#32

Post by hsnewman »

amelius wrote: post #4

Wouldn't it be easier to hunt for resources deeper in Earth's crust?

I've heard that the real resource is the heavy hydrogen contained in the first millimeters of the crust as a result of the bombardment of solar winds. If we could use it for fusion power, the heavy hydrogen contained on the moon would power the world nearly forever.

Re: The Race to Develop the Moon

#33

Post by eesmith »

gumby wrote: post #31
eesmith wrote: post #19

Article: "Watching the footage of Neil Armstrong’s first steps, it takes a moment for one’s eyes to make sense of the low-resolution image" As I understand it, the problem wasn't the video feed, it was the re-transmission for the global TV audience. The original video was then lost. Quoting from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1200161/Apol... : > Nasa believed they might contain electronic information…

> "Watching the footage of Neil Armstrong’s first steps” That famous footage (literally, in both senses of the word) was of Aldrin’s first steps: Armstrong had already exited the LEM, made his famous statement, and then used a camera to film Aldrin’s descent and steps.

So, I don't know which is more famous, but I do know that there's footage of Armstrong. The page https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/hd/apollo11_hdpage.html links to a side-by-side https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/One_Small_Ste... and that shows Armstrong's initial descent, ending with the "One small step" line.

Furthermore, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11 we can read:

> Climbing down the nine-rung ladder, Armstrong pulled a D-ring to deploy the modular equipment stowage assembly (MESA) folded against Eagle's side and activate the TV camera.[120][8]

> Apollo 11 used slow-scan television (TV) incompatible with broadcast TV, so it was displayed on a special monitor and a conventional TV camera viewed this monitor, significantly reducing the quality of the picture.[121] The signal was received at Goldstone in the United States, but with better fidelity by Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station near Canberra in Australia. Minutes later the feed was switched to the more sensitive Parkes radio telescope in Australia.[122] Despite some technical and weather difficulties, ghostly black and white images of the first lunar EVA were received and broadcast to at least 600 million people on Earth.[122] Copies of this video in broadcast format were saved and are widely available, but recordings of the original slow scan source transmission from the lunar surface were likely destroyed during routine magnetic tape re-use at NASA.[121]

Why do you think it's Aldrin's descent which is more famous?

Re: The Race to Develop the Moon

#34

Post by eesmith »

jandrese wrote: post #25
eesmith wrote: post #19

Article: "Watching the footage of Neil Armstrong’s first steps, it takes a moment for one’s eyes to make sense of the low-resolution image" As I understand it, the problem wasn't the video feed, it was the re-transmission for the global TV audience. The original video was then lost. Quoting from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1200161/Apol... : > Nasa believed they might contain electronic information…

I think that statement is describing post-Apollo NASA when the agency lost focus and got pulled in 50 different directions by political interests.

Pre- and post- Apollo NASA accepted risks.

Re: The Race to Develop the Moon

#35

Post by Symmetry »

all2 wrote: post #10
rtkwe wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depends on what you want it for. For use on earth probably but there's also a lot of unexplored potential surface and near surface resources on the moon where going deeper and deeper into the earth is quite expensive and dangerous in it's own right. For use in space especially consumables like water it makes a lot of sense to find them in space as much as possible because the rocket equation is a royal pain in the as…

For silicon based things, the moon would make sense for manufacturers. Is there enough solar energy for something like that? Specifically for smelting and refinement? What materials would need to be shipped in for manufacture?

For half the month the lunar surface is basically paradise for solar electricity with 1.3 kw/m2 of sunlight 24 hours a day instead of just the 1.0 kw/m2 on Earth's surface for half the day. But the other half of the month is complete darkness except star and Earth light. Unless you're at one of the poles and rig a solar panel to rotate horizontally.

This is good for industrial processes you can start and stop over the course of a month but life support needs lots of batteries, about 10 times the weight of the solar panels.

Re: The Race to Develop the Moon

#36

Post by Iv »

dsfyu404ed wrote: post #13
Consultant32452 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a new form of white supremacy, where the article author goes out of their way to mention the white race in association with accomplishments. I find the trend to be extremely creepy. Edit: clarifying I mean the article author

To be fair the author was the one who mentioned it first. I tend to agree with the GP here. The lack diversity cred of a bunch of dudes 60yr ago is not really worth mentioning. It has no bearing on the content of the article and only serves as a distraction from the main subject. Considering who the author[0] is I don't think this was an attempt to "point out the accomplishments of the white race" or something like t…

I read it as "this is the society that it was. That's how long it was." The 60s were the decade of the space program and of desegregation in school.

Re: The Race to Develop the Moon

#37

Post by username223 »

TuringNYC wrote: post #18
Bizarro wrote: post #3

All the moonwalkers were men, all were American, all but one were Boy Scouts, and almost all listened to country-and-Western music on their way to the moon These writers just can't help themselves. It's part of their hive-mind checklist.

This is a New Yorker article, so it has a literary bent in terms of details and descriptions typical of long-form publication. That is what New Yorker subscribers want. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-form_journalism For straight-to-the-science, Wikipedia or other publications are better. There is a publication for most major preferences. I used to love the detail of The New Yorker when i was single and had l…

If I have time to read about some unusual subject purely for enjoyment, it's hard to beat the New Yorker. I still remember a truly wonderful pair of articles years ago about a road-trip across Russia (written by Ian Frazier?). They allowed me to experience a place I'll never visit, and I enjoyed the trip.

If I just want information, I'll go to Wikipedia, Stack Overflow, etc., search for some keywords, skim it, and close the tab. Writing can be used for many purposes.

Re: The Race to Develop the Moon

#38

Post by pjc50 »

dsfyu404ed wrote: post #13
Consultant32452 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a new form of white supremacy, where the article author goes out of their way to mention the white race in association with accomplishments. I find the trend to be extremely creepy. Edit: clarifying I mean the article author

To be fair the author was the one who mentioned it first. I tend to agree with the GP here. The lack diversity cred of a bunch of dudes 60yr ago is not really worth mentioning. It has no bearing on the content of the article and only serves as a distraction from the main subject. Considering who the author[0] is I don't think this was an attempt to "point out the accomplishments of the white race" or something like t…

It was certainly commented on at the time: https://genius.com/Gil-scott-heron-whitey-on-the-moon-annota...

The moon landing program ran concurrently with civil rights conflict on the ground.

Re: The Race to Develop the Moon

#39

Post by gumby »

eesmith wrote: post #33
gumby wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "Watching the footage of Neil Armstrong’s first steps” That famous footage (literally, in both senses of the word) was of Aldrin’s first steps: Armstrong had already exited the LEM, made his famous statement, and then used a camera to film Aldrin’s descent and steps.

So, I don't know which is more famous, but I do know that there's footage of Armstrong. The page https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/hd/apollo11_hdpage.html links to a side-by-side https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/One_Small_Ste... and that shows Armstrong's initial descent, ending with the "One small step" line. Furthermore, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11 we can read: > Climbing down the nine-…

Because Aldrin's video is much clearer, for what reason I don't know, and appears to be the one more often shown AFAICT...and not that anyone will really care in the long run.

But I was completely messed up in one important regard: the iconic color shots were almost all of Aldrin as the handheld cameras (in 11 at least) were still cameras only and almost all those shots were taken by Armstrong for some reason.

Re: The Race to Develop the Moon

#40

Post by eesmith »

gumby wrote: post #39
eesmith wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, I don't know which is more famous, but I do know that there's footage of Armstrong. The page https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/hd/apollo11_hdpage.html links to a side-by-side https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/One_Small_Ste... and that shows Armstrong's initial descent, ending with the "One small step" line. Furthermore, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11 we can read: > Climbing down the nine-…

Because Aldrin's video is much clearer, for what reason I don't know, and appears to be the one more often shown AFAICT...and not that anyone will really care in the long run. But I was completely messed up in one important regard: the iconic color shots were almost all of Aldrin as the handheld cameras (in 11 at least) were still cameras only and almost all those shots were taken by Armstrong for some reason.

Interesting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7_R1Lj0BV0 (British Pathé) shows both astronauts descending, shows Armstrong touch the ground, then moonscape, then Aldrin.

I can accept your statement about which is more popular. Your observations are more informed than mine. Thanks!

The article explains the reason for why almost all shots were of Aldrin.

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