POLL: How many would go to the moon today?

[tpowell1830]

I have been lurking and reading comments from another thread regarding whether or not men went to the moon. I was alive through the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions and have no doubt that, yes we went to the moon and landed men there multiple times.  Some arguments say that it could have been faked to keep safe people from going on such a dangerous and risky mission. I think there are many who actually took the risk back then and many who would still take that risk today. 

EDIT: Assuming that you are in perfect health and able bodied.

[ataradov]

Nope. There is really no point in going there, and I'd much rather participate in the development of the tech that can carry others there, if they chose so.

And yeah, people that say that moon landing is faked can be safely ignored. They are either grossly misinformed or just idiots.

[bsfeechannel]

Nope. There is really no point in going there

Of course. It's the forbidden zone.

[ataradov]

It is not forbidden. There is just no point in going there (for me personally). By the same token, I would not want to climb Everest. I really see no point in doing so. But if others find it enjoyable, that's fine with me.

[bsfeechannel]

But if others find it enjoyable, that's fine with me.

Where do I buy the ticket?

[Rerouter]

If there was a technical pursuit, rather than just tourism, then I do not hold many objections. however I feel most of my skillsets, while good for the "solve problems to keep yourself alive" part, would be lacking for the other parts of any mission.

The sheer amount of quick thinking bodges, patches and fixes I have done to keep things running that ended up being long term fixes haunts me a little each night. But its nice to know under pressure I can snap into that mode of thinking.

[VK5RC]

I have a wife and 3 dependant children, so now probably not, but before children and married, YES.

[vk6zgo]

Too bloody old--- I'd have to take a "floating frame" to get around.

[tpowell1830]

Nope. There is really no point in going there, and I'd much rather participate in the development of the tech that can carry others there, if they chose so.

And yeah, people that say that moon landing is faked can be safely ignored. They are either grossly misinformed or just idiots.
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Alex

I would go for the adventure and the ride (what a hell of a ride). Agreed on the building the tech part, though.

[tpowell1830]

If there was a technical pursuit, rather than just tourism, then I do not hold many objections. however I feel most of my skillsets, while good for the "solve problems to keep yourself alive" part, would be lacking for the other parts of any mission.

The sheer amount of quick thinking bodges, patches and fixes I have done to keep things running that ended up being long term fixes haunts me a little each night. But its nice to know under pressure I can snap into that mode of thinking.

You would be useful on such a trip in the event of a failure. But agreed on the purpose, tourism would suck.

[coppice]

Too bloody old--- I'd have to take a "floating frame" to get around.

But you'd be so light on the moon. It might be a fantastic liberating experience.

[tpowell1830]

I have a wife and 3 dependant children, so now probably not, but before children and married, YES.

Yes, with responsibility comes caution, I know how that works, been there, done that.

[tpowell1830]

Too bloody old--- I'd have to take a "floating frame" to get around.

Yes, I am too old as well, but remember the moon is 1/5th earth gravity.

[rrinker]

 In a heartbeat - except I am too old and in too bad a shape to actually withstand the launch.
My attitude hasn't changed since that day in college when I watched the shuttle Challenger explode on live TV - at the time I said if they want to send another one up immediately I would gladly volunteer to be on it. But I was almost 33 years younger and in much better shape than I am now. Now my only hope is that someone invents inertial compensators.

[tpowell1830]

In a heartbeat - except I am too old and in too bad a shape to actually withstand the launch.
My attitude hasn't changed since that day in college when I watched the shuttle Challenger explode on live TV - at the time I said if they want to send another one up immediately I would gladly volunteer to be on it. But I was almost 33 years younger and in much better shape than I am now. Now my only hope is that someone invents inertial compensators.

Yes, that is why we should be doing things like going to the moon and Mars and the moons of the gas giants... to be able to develop something like inertial dampeners and other technological marvels. IMO The tech that comes from such missions, designed and tested by people like us, is well worth the effort in going. The method of propulsion and other motivators would be developed as well to allow us to go further and explore more. There is something out there that will help humanity develop, I am sure of it, if only we dared to go.

[james_s]

Inertial dampeners are like warp drive and perpetual motion machines, they violate the laws of physics as we know it. Personally I don't think it's possible, no matter how much development is done.

[Bassman59]

In a heartbeat - except I am too old and in too bad a shape to actually withstand the launch.
My attitude hasn't changed since that day in college when I watched the shuttle Challenger explode on live TV - at the time I said if they want to send another one up immediately I would gladly volunteer to be on it. But I was almost 33 years younger and in much better shape than I am now. Now my only hope is that someone invents inertial compensators.

I saw the Challenger explosion live, too. I was a junior in college and a bunch of us were watching the launch between classes. Absolutely the worst thing I’ve ever seen. (I missed seeing the live broadcast of the towers collapsing in 2001.)

[KL27x]

I would rather be Q than James Bond in this scenario. The guy that goes to the moon might as well be a hamster, as far as I am concerned.

Also, the rocket is gonna launch whether you are ready or not. There are 100 people at hand making this happen. Millions of dollars. Millions of viewers. The date was set like 2 years ago. No matter what is happening in your life at that time, you are on the spot. You might have found love. You might have won the lottery. You might have just scored a great deal on a Tek scope. You might have a bad case of the runs. It don't matter, cuz the world needs the hamster. Too much dedication for me. I'm not that interested.

There are something like 12 people who have landed on the moon, and I can only name 2 of them. I don't see the upside of being the 13th with the same risks.

Now it would be different if I were offered a seat with a couple days notice, and that is enough time to learn w/e I needed to learn. And to write a will. And I happened to be in the physical shape, already.

...Then I suppose it would depend on my mood and life circumstances at that time. Right now? No. I think my life would have to be pretty shitty for me to sign up to be the hamster. The reason why Chuck Yeager is a badass is posterity. The other 99 of his cohorts who went through the same things all died in the process. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin? First. The only way they would learn anything new if I went up there, is if something went wrong and I died.

[Zero999]

No, because I suffer from motion sickness and would be very ill.

[CatalinaWOW]

In some ways I would rather go to the moon than on a transoceanic flight.  Sure the moon is more dangerous, but you wouldn't be at the mercy of people who are sure you are a dangerous fanatic out to blow up the world, or a financial liabiitywho might consume an extra cm of legroom.

[Ampera]

I wouldn't discuss it with people I know, as it would be my decision, but I also wouldn't immediately go if offered.

I'd need to understand the risks presented to me, what would be expected of me physically and mentally, and how easy it would be to return to my life back on Earth.

I'd be quite more willing to work on the ISS, as it's a bit closer to home, and is not as risky of a proposition in my mind. Space travel with current technology is unpredictable, even to people who spend their entire lives trying to predict it, but it also taxes the people who go up there, who are honestly more like line techs, doing work for people on the ground more than anything else.

I would definitely go to space, or even settle for a zero G flight, because the ability to simply fly around would be absolutely incredible in my mind. I'm sure you get over it, and the minor issue of effectively having a head cold the entire time you're up there would probably get annoying, not to mention all the work that's expected of career astronauts.

If I live to see the moon or mars colonized with pedestrian travel to and from, I'd definitely take the trip.

[AndyC_772]

I'd take the trip without a moment's hesitation.

Right now, I'm just one out of may billions of people. The experiences I've had in my life, and those I'm ever likely to have, are ordinary. I'm unique, just like everybody else.

But, to go to the moon... what an experience. What a story to tell. What an utterly awesome thing to have done. And even if it goes disastrously wrong, what a way to go.

I'm way more frightened of the prospect of dying a dribbling old fool never having truly lived, than I am of anything that might go wrong with a space mission. Bring it on.

[tpowell1830]

Just as a primer to anyone going on the Mercury program, this documentary of Tom Wolfe's book "The Right Stuff" was pretty good and later became the Hollywood movie, which I enjoyed as well. I recommend the book, the documentary and the movie.

Tom Wolfe, TLC Documentary -
The Right Stuff, movie, trailer -

[james_s]

I'm content just seeing video footage, I'm not about to risk my life to go visit an empty rock in space. Sure it would be cool to be able to say I had been there but what does that do for me? Actually space has never really captured my imagination the way it has with some people. A machinist friend was recently all excited that they got to make some parts that are going into space and I'm thinking yeah ok, so? They make parts for airplanes too and that's about as interesting to me. Actually I'd rather fly on an airplane than a rocket.

[cdev]

It's really beautiful looking at the earth from space just going by again and again I bet. Even through tiny super thick windows.

The experience of a lifetime-