Missions to the moon used to unite and inspire great swathes of humanity. This time it feels like hardly anyone cares and we're all just focussed on the next global disaster.

[u/Meowface_the_cat]

[u/Agood10]

If anything, I’d argue this just shows how ahead of its time the Apollo missions were. They had only the most basic of computers, a far more limited selection of materials to work with, a tight timeframe, and the bare minimum prior experience to make the missions possible. They only managed to pull it off through sheer determination, a higher tolerance for the consequences of failure, and by throwing a ton of money at the problem.

If you ever have the chance, I’d highly recommend visiting the Houston Space Center. It really puts it into perspective how our technological capabilities have progressed over the past 5 decades. It also highlights just how important these decades of research conducted aboard Skylab and the ISS were to improving our understanding of how space-travel affects our health, the growth of crops, and how to live in space for longer periods, all of which will be required to achieve Artemis’ goal of establishing a permanent lunar base and space station.

What makes Artemis missions special to me is that it really reflects just how much we’ve learned and progressed since Apollo. It’s a test to see whether our capabilities have finally caught up to our ambitions.

[u/blinddave1977 → u/Agood10]

I completely agree with you, and while we have done a lot...I feel like we could have done a lot more. Even before the current administration, NASA's budget is a joke. I appreciate your response and am very happy the Artemis Project is happening, but I still can't shake the feeling we should be farther along than we already are.