R&E Political Discussion

R&E Political Discussion - Spring 2026
[ R&E Political Discussion - Spring 2026 ]

fact check

Posted by mender on April 6, 2026, 4:32 pm

I hear newscasters praising humanity by saying
“The crew of Artemis II goes where no human
has gone before. To the far side of the moon.”

Since there is no landing planned for this mission,
does a circumnavigation qualify as the first time
humanity has had the opportunity to look out of
the window of the capsule and see the darkness
of the far side of the Moon?

Did any of the moon missions of the 70s accomplish
this feat with any of their circumnavigations ?

Is it true that if it were not for Donald Trump
n his wonderfulness that none of this would
ever be even possible? I only ask this after
listening to him comment the bravery of the
astronauts become an observation of the
stoicism he has maintained in the face of
Increasingly unfavorable press - po’ po’ boi

12 Apollo astronauts orbited (went around) the moon without landing.

Posted by Ken C on April 7, 2026, 7:30 am, in reply to "fact check"
Edited by board administrator April 7, 2026, 7:33 am

I could not find the exact paths of their orbits. I don't know if their ships had windows.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Apollo_astronauts#Apollo_astronauts_who_flew_to_the_Moon's_vicinity_without_landing

I'm glad USA is doing science stuff like this, but I think it would be better to send robots. It would be better, cheaper, safer, and easier to send robots. We would learn more while spending less money.

Instead of using robots to drive taxis and take jobs from human drivers, we should have robots do the dangerous stuff like flying thru space.

From a buddy of mine at JPL, 50 years ago...

Posted by Cheap Seats Shaman *= on April 7, 2026, 10:17 am, in reply to "12 Apollo astronauts orbited (went around) the moon without landing. "

...that slipped out.
😉