The Beginning of the End of the Future

July 20, 2004

Image Credit: <a class="one" href="http://www.apolloarchive.com/" >Neil Armstrong & the Apollo Archive </a>

The Beginning of the End of the Future

Thirty-five years ago today humans took the first step onto another world. The picture demonstrates that we - in this case Edwin Aldrin setting up a seismic station - could do meaningful work on another planetary surface. And with the odd contraption in the background, we could land, take off and fly through space. But we lost our way, our courage, our sense of adventure, or our calling to explore, becoming so institutionally fearful of risk that we won't fly the Shuttle to repair the Hubble. What will history say, a hundred years from now, about our failure of leadership and failure of faith in humanity's future? If we had kept going, there would be humans living on the Moon today, and some would have established a frontier on Mars. But we dreamed small dreams and sat on our hands, polluting the planet, killing each other in ethnic strife, building rockets for killing rather than exploring, and arguing about how next to hold back the future. Too bad we have only one machine-building species on our world - I bet no other would fail as badly. Happy 35th...

— Chuck Wood

Technical Details:
Stupendous technical developments got us to the Moon; too bad we were only visiting.

Related Links:
Apollo Maniacs

Tomorrow's LPOD: Taurus-Littrow Route Map

Author & Editor:
Charles A. Wood

Technical Consultant:
Anthony Ayiomamitis

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July 20, 2004

The Beginning of the End of the Future