Book Report #56 : Back to The Moon.
Begin: 10/15/2024
Finish: 2/19/2025
Title: Space Exploration – Back to The Moon.
Author: Sarah Scoles.
Why I choose to read this book:
To learn more about space exploration and why it is so difficult to repeat the feat of Apollo to return to the Moon.
What I learned from the book:
NASA is preparing to send people back to the Moon on Artemis II flight, scheduled to lift off in fall of 2025. Apollo 17 returned from the Moon in 1972, that would be the last humans to travel deep into outer space for more than 50 years. Why is it so difficult?
Artemis II Mission:
The new mission is similar to the Apollo 8 flight of 1968 when they circled the Moon without landing and travelled back to Earth. Artemis II will send four astronauts on a 10-day trip around the Moon on NASA’s new Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion Space Capsule. Choosing to do things “Not because they are easy but because they are hard” is part of the rationale President John F. Kennedy gave in a famous 1962 speech trying to galvanize support for the Apollo Program. What was true the remains so today – Infact it may be even more difficult than it was decades ago. NASA Artemis Program has been plagued by long delays, cost overruns and surprise problems. The Artemis Program will have devoured $93 Billion by 2025, billions more than anticipated. Anomalies – space term for big problem – pose significant risk to the safety of the crew, on top of other hardware, data and communication challenges. It may seem strange that today’s Lunar Mission are so challenging given that we’ve done this before. But the circumstances aren’t the same. The world environment is very different.
Global Cooperation Program:
The US is no longer in a space race with the Soviet Union or the communist. Apollo cost was exorbitant, the program cost $290 Billion in todays dollars. There’s no reason to spend money like it was a war. There is really no national or political interest that provides the foundation for that kind of mobilization at this point. The world has changed, and space missions tend to be global cooperation now. The Artemis Program is a collaboration involving Japan, Canada, United Arab Emirates and the European Space Agency. Working with other countries, several of whom are building hardware for Artemis, take longer than going it alone. The global nature of the program is also increasing the costs. The Artemis SLS is a retrofit of technology developed for the Constellation Program, which entails repurposing old space shuttle technology. The retrofit is challenging and required finding new suppliers.
Society’s View of The Space Program:
In the 1960’s, the potential big reward of winning the space race against the communist was generally held to be worth more danger. Today the motivations for the mission are murkier, the stakes are lower, and the consequent rewards don’t justify as much risk. Today a wider variety of people go to space for a number of reasons. Astronauts are not some separate species. We value their lives more like we value our own. Artemis Program might not have enough political support to survive a fatality. So Artemis II other missions have to be as safe as they can to continue the program.
Environmental Review:
Asking citizens for input on projects – a requirement of many large Governmental Projects is a significant cause for delays and woes. This input is often part of an Environmental Review that is required before a project begins. Taking into consideration of the “Citizens Voice”, can result in more expenses, that have fewer negative environmental impacts or are less disruptive to citizens and may require additional mitigation infrastructure. The biggest difference past and present may be that we build things better now, which is expensive and takes longer. The new way of going into space ultimately results in safer, better-understood system that might meet with more public approval at home and abroad.
How will this book contribute to my success upon release:
Knowledge of the Artemis II Mission keep me abreast of new development in space exploration and improves my analytical and critical thinking skills. This knowledge allows me to understand how mega projects are built and the cost overruns associated with it.
