US commits to landing an international astronaut on the Moon - This decade::This ticket to the Moon will probably go to a European or Japanese astronaut.

    • You999@sh.itjust.works
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      11 months ago

      Because landing on the moon is an excellent test bed for future scientific and commercial endeavors. But why an international person? Space travel requires support from the international community and an easy way to drum up support without being billed for it is to offer a spot on the mission and all of the prestige that comes with it.

    • uid0gid0@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      We chose to land an International Astronaut on the moon in this decade and do the other things not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.

      • chiliedogg@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        My favorite part of the speech is the reference to Rice playing Texas.

        Since the beginning of the Apollo program, more people have traveled to the moon than Rice football players who started a winning game against Texas.

        • galloog1@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Unironically yes, I do believe that. Space exploration is a worthy endeavor in and of itself and takes up a fraction of the budget.

            • galloog1@lemmy.world
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              11 months ago

              Do you disagree concerning what would motivate you or the average person in the world? I’m answering based on the latter.

    • Brownian Motion@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      I might be cynical, but if the Apollo missions are anything to go by, sacrificing many “international astronauts” in testing to finally get one successfully up there, is better than losing american’s?

      But hey, I’m only watching from “The Dish” over here in Oz.