….is only 9 years away, but it will mark a historic milestone: 50 years since any human set foot on a world other than our own.

It’s a turn of events that would have shocked almost everyone in the early Space Age. A brief flurry of moon visits 1969-72, and then: nothing, for over half a century. It’s not what was in the script. I don’t think anyone at all predicted it.

So why did no-one predict what now seems inevitable?

Bubblecar said:

….is only 9 years away, but it will mark a historic milestone: 50 years since any human set foot on a world other than our own.

It’s a turn of events that would have shocked almost everyone in the early Space Age. A brief flurry of moon visits 1969-72, and then: nothing, for over half a century. It’s not what was in the script. I don’t think anyone at all predicted it.

So why did no-one predict what now seems inevitable?

Politics is complex.

I guess it was more politics that drove it than pure science. It was more a veiled threat – if we can send three blokes up into lunar orbit, land two of them and the recover them safely – it’s a doddle for us to lob a few nukes on your twenty largest cites.

an apt picture

Bubblecar said:

….is only 9 years away, but it will mark a historic milestone: 50 years since any human set foot on a world other than our own.

It’s a turn of events that would have shocked almost everyone in the early Space Age. A brief flurry of moon visits 1969-72, and then: nothing, for over half a century. It’s not what was in the script. I don’t think anyone at all predicted it.

I would have. And people did. Popular support for the space program and its expense fell after the initial euphoria and politicians made platforms of stopping it. NASAs budget was always in decline after the high point had been reached. People didn’t see the point and were more concerned with the Vietnam War, race riots and rising crime levels. One pollie said something like it was safer for a man to walk on the moon than to walk in New York city when demanding funds from the space program.

Nasa’s moon mission Ladee spacecraft blasts off successfully
Moon mission the first to blast off from Virginia site as it sets off on month-long journey to reach lunar orbit
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/sep/07/nasa-launches-ladee-moon-spacecraft-virginia

Nasa’s newest robotic explorer rocketed into space late on Friday night in an unprecedented moonshot from the state of Virginia.

The Ladee spacecraft, which is charged with studying the lunar atmosphere and dust, soared aboard an unmanned Minotaur rocket a little before midnight.

It was a change of venue for Nasa, which normally launches moon missions from Cape Canaveral, Florida. But it provided a rare light show along the east coast of the US for those blessed with clear skies.

The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer, or Ladee, is taking a roundabout path to the moon, making three huge laps around Earth before getting close enough to pop into lunar orbit.

more…

Because sending people into space for no better reason other than jingoistic cock waving, banner placing cold-war one upmanship is expensive.

I believe, although i have no ref, that the Apollo program cost several percentage points of GDP

dv said:

Bubblecar said:

….is only 9 years away, but it will mark a historic milestone: 50 years since any human set foot on a world other than our own.

It’s a turn of events that would have shocked almost everyone in the early Space Age. A brief flurry of moon visits 1969-72, and then: nothing, for over half a century. It’s not what was in the script. I don’t think anyone at all predicted it.

So why did no-one predict what now seems inevitable?

Politics is complex.

It may be, but in this case the reason is quite simple.

There is this myth (still popular) that technological change is unlimited, and is always progressing ever faster, whereas the truth is that all technologies pretty soon reach a point where further progress is very difficult and expensive.

Dropbear said:

Because sending people into space for no better reason other than jingoistic cock waving, banner placing cold-war one upmanship is expensive.

I believe, although i have no ref, that the Apollo program cost several percentage points of GDP

Yes, hit a max of about 2.2%.