NASA should go to Mars now and not the moon first. Going to Mars takes about the same technology as a moon mission, the only difference being it takes a longer time to travel to Mars, but Astronauts have been in space for months at the time already, staying in space 2.5 years for a full Mars return mission would not be a problem.

I am constantly amazed by the people who consider this a waste of money - aren't you curious? Do you find space boring or something?

I don't care if we go to Mars or the Moon next as long as we're out there. Exploring and killing each other is what our species does best - personally I'd rather focus on the first one.

Hopefully we can find environmentally sustainable ways of getting our rockets into space, but that's not going to happen if we stop building ships - and then we get into what k jinx said @ 76.

This renewed focus on a manned mission to the moon was brought up a few years ago.

My question is this....with our level of knowledge and technology these days, why does it take us FIFTEEN YEARS to get back to the moon???? It took us less than that to get there the first time and that was researching and developing new experimental technologies from scratch. We already have an enormous base to work from. What's going on?

@BurrPatch I almost hear the voice of Dave Bowman... :-)

What benefits have come from the space program?

Mylar and other insulation technologies.
Plastics, ceramics, and metallurgy advances.
Fiber-optics.
Micro-miniature electronics.
High- and low-temperature materials sciences advances.
Food-preservation techniques and technologies.
Artificial lubricants.
Robotics technologies and applications.
Weather, communications, and GPS satellites.
Ground-penetrating radar and other scientific research satellites.
Medical telemetry.

Those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head. For a specific example, heart patients benefit directly from the plastics, electronics and medical technologies developed by NASA that led to pacemakers and artificial hearts.

Thank you Jim, I have been asking that same question for years. By the way, how did that first space craft get by the sun's heat? Can someone please explain?

To Fabian: Have the courage to post in English. That way, we can better understand your explanation of France's aerospace program, and it's latest triumphs.

awesomeness and all j ease

è êàêîãî ëûñîãî âû òàì çàáûëè? çâîíèòå Ñïèëáåðãó ïóñòüîí âàì ðåìýéê ïåðåñíèìåò à ìû ïîñìîòðèì

NASA expenditures were not wasted. Look around your house or work and almost everything you see will have in some way been touched by the awesome development that went into our space program.

What is sad, is the relatively poor job NASA does at promoting this fact.

France sucks. Great pictures.

To all the folks who are chucking spears at France because of Fabien's comments; perhaps he/she is not from the great nation of France. There are a number of countries that speak French (a large neighbor of the US for starters; some areas of Africa as well).

subhanallah .. what amazing that picture .

To all those who think that we should go to Mars first: do you have any idea about the complexity of the technology required? We must learn to crawl before we learn to fly!

And as for not going to the moon again: imagine if Columbus never revisited America.

Oh... and wasting money? WASTING MONEY? Yeah, while spending two orders of magnitude more money on occupying some well-known Middle Eastern nation, looking for what is probably the best- camouflaged WMD (and a popular joke back in Europe) and, oh, incidentaly, installing american megacorporations to control that nation surprisingly rich oil reserves, is NOT a waste of money. Wake up and smell the coffey

Finally, to those who think that the NASA programs are enviromentally unfriendly: NASA is currently one of our best hopes at the moment. A space race (even if there is only one racer) is a huge drive for technology. Maybe NASA will turn alternative energy systems (fuel cells and whatnot) from prototypes to something viable.

Hey. The lunar surface temperature is aproximatelly +120 C . How in heavens name the photo no melts . It's plastic & photo paper.
Did they really go up there or everything is in a studio?

Really sorry for the two specimens of French men in the comments.
We're not all like that !

Vous etes navrants les gars. L'arrogance et l'aggressivité de beaucoup de français, c'est l'une des raisons pour lesquelles je me suis exilé en Italie...
Le jour où notre ESA fera quelque chose d'aussi incroyable, vous changerez sans doute d'avis, non?

Really great pictures, absolutely beautiful. I hope to see the next step, a landing on Mars....

France doesn't suck, but some French... well, I have to admit, yes...

gila bagus banget

Kubrick, Patterson, Sudheesh. Et. Al.
You are wise. It's for our future, The Species, - Our species. It's that important.
Stuart Garfath. Sydney, Australia.

thanx 4 beautifull pic !

thank you for beauti full picture...

wow amazing

wonderfull

incredible

Je vous suis eternellement redevable pour ces photos remarquables et
promettantes! Continuez vos bonnes oeuvres pour le bon avenir de
l'humanite!

Aristophilos

muuhaaa, so you want to return to space, man does not want to be inspired to achieve great things, he wants to be dragged down into the stinking cesspools of war, famine, and disease.
do not lift your heads into the light, instead toil way your lives foolishly from that dark cave of ignorance, and in the end you will have missed all that is love.
sorry to preach, but its what we angels do in our off time.

The pic of the Duke family is fantastic

He ho les gars...

Etes-vous tous aussi stupides pour vouloir à ce point que la Lune , Mars ou autres planètes ressemblent au merdier qu'est notre pauvre planète ??

L'homme (qu'il vienne de la NASA, de l'ESA ou d'ailleurs...) détruit TOUT sur son passage. Il fait déjà suffisamment de dégâts sur Terre, n'en rajoutons pas et continuons d'admirer l'Espace depuis notre sol !!!

Sur ce, je vais me boire un bon petit verre de vin................. français ??????

awesoooommmmmeeeee pictures!!!

moving forward to see astronaut's photos on the sun (~_^)

i'd rather them waste my money on space than all the other crap the government wastes my money on. like law enforcement for example, and welfare for people that sit around and do meth all day, while i have to pass drug tests to keep my job that pays their way.

@ Kostas: Eeeerrr... the camera is NOT on the surface and there is no atmosphere to act as a heat medium. The camera was heated only by direct sunlight and radiation of heat from the ground, a very inefficient way of transfering energy. Also, the camera was white to better reflect sunlight, was heavily isulated, and it was not constructed like your average Holga. Also, the film was not the Tri-X or the Superia you find in the stores. Each chest-mounted Hasselblad-made-Zeiss-equipped camera has the cost of a medium car, with special lupricants and modified shutter mechanisms. It makes a Leica look like a cheapo Smena indeed.

This country doesn't deserve NASA and it's accomplishments. And neither does all the other "nay sayers" of this planet. It's sad but because of some of the ignorant comments above we now live in a second class country, full of 3rd rate citizens who treat their military and veterans like last class trash. I'm ashamed that I sacrificed 40 years of my 71 year life in service to this ungrateful world. You deserve every thing you are about to receive. Too bad, so sad........your DAV.

I was part of the recovery team for Apollo 11. I watched the capsule streak across the sky at dawn. I watched the chutes open and float down, all pink in the early sun. These pics bring me back for sure. The space race was all money well spent. So many things we take for granted today were developed during that period. Electronics miniaturization for one. If you don't understand, look it up.

I read all 106 opinions. On this 4th I am proud to be American.
The pictures are amazing and what an amazing accomplishment.
It is strange, As different as the views expressed in the blogs are, I can only totally disagree with a few. Africa is a mess, our oceans and land are polluted, NASA is an important investment, Our government is inefficient, The Frenchman was right about some Americans being arrogant, even though I dont care what he thinks.
When you look around it is very hard to disregard the problems we see all around our world and focus on something so distant.
But I cannot blame people for being concerned about real problems that have solutions that can be measured.
Maybe NASA needs to prove itself, nothing wrong with that.
NASA needs a mission that can be easily defined and measured.
How about finding a practical way to free the world from oil and coal consumption?
Then, I say, lets give you funding to go wherever you want in the universe.

Mike L. Massey

Some of these comments are just rediclious
People this day and age take so much for granted and just complain about everything.
SO much has come from the space program.
Happy 4th to all the Tru Americans !

Hey , awesome I am so glad that I lived during this time in earths history . To all the Nasa folks , well done ! !

I just wanted to give a SHOUT-OUT to NASA! I was blown away to see the beauty of the Creator's creation. If nothing else, we should be forever reminded of God's Almighty Power and His Marvelous Universe He designed! Only a fool in his/her heart would say that there is no LIVING GOD! There is a reason and a purpose for everything. I always say, "If it doesn't hurt, harm, or harass, then GO-FOR-IT!
Keep Up The GOOD WORK NASA!

Absolutely fantastic. What a wonderful Moon!

Can anyone here just for a moment...imagine where we would be today if we hadn't STOPPED.... thats the worlds greatest tragedy .... we stopped when we should have kept on going, there would have been permanent bases on the moon and mars by now, and our own technologies would have been hugely advanced

The space exploration frenzy of the late sixties/seventies caused an incredible surge of technological advancement....which ended with the advent of cozy shuttlism (read 'no mission' ) with subsequent complacency and disasters thereof .... (it's just an O ring) (it's just a piece of foam).......duh;... wuz that meters or feet???; lets grab a coffee.......yahhhhwn

There's a bit of enthusiasm happening now it seems ( probably because of the latest news on Mars) but I worry a bit when I see 'stupid' contraptions like the Moon Truck.........someone has WAY!! too much time ( at $100/hour) to spend on dreaming about machines...... for F sakes NASA take a look at your own pictures from 36 years ago.......they had a perfectly working truck with 4 damn wheels 36 years AGO so quit F...ing around and just DO IT !!!!!!!!!!

Oh... and while your at it...send a ship the size of an aircraft carrier to Mars and establish a "PERMANENT" base there. Get some balls

"Thanks for the recent photos showing how NASA is wasting billions of taxpayer dollars.

Posted by Homer July 2, 08 01:23 PM"

Thanks for reminding us that some people have no sense of vision or intellect. It's no surprise your name is HOMER!!

Theres got to be a better name for the habitats than ATHLETE ( all terrain hex legged extra terrestrial explorer). It looks like a bug so I would name it ‚Þ‚µ(bug in Japanese..mushi) or even ETX. Then when Houston phones ETXs home the astronauts could answer...‚Þ‚µ‚Þ‚µ (mushi mushi)

I just want to say HOW GREAT OUR GOD CREATERS ARE. from the photo I can understand how big is the GOD power. go head NASA do some good things to people arround the world. yeah there some negative command and positive consider about the negative and keep up the positive ones.

By the way, the surface of the moon is so much similar to some lands in Iraqi towns after the invasion.

It is a national tragedy that we have not gone further in space, including the moon since the '70s. What a waste. We benefited so much from all that engineering and development that brought out the best in mankind. We owe this www to those days of creativity, not to mention that thing you use to view it.

We elect the greedy self-serving morons who govern us, so we deserve what we get.

Thank you for sharing these wonderful pictures. They certainly make me pround to be an American. This country has done so much to make this world a better place to live and NASA has certainly contributed much to that end. Many of us are better off as a result of what we learned from the space program technology. Some of us are alive today(myself included), partly from some of the scientific techniques learned as a result of NASA's research.

Money well spent!!
God Bless America

Ok then so let me see, NASA gives us new technology and social programs give us what? Oh I know more people with their hands out. Go NASA

Great pictures. Keep the program alive for our future understanding of outer space. This is extremely important for our future generations. Thanks for sharing these breathtaking pictures. Billions spent today is cheap dollars in the future.

Beautiful pictures ..........
stop the wars and give money in the poor countries and explores the space

Agree with Scott P in comment 22.

Mankind's greatest achievement, if you ask me.

For more perspective, watch the movies "Bobby", "For All Mankind" and "Magnificent Desolation"

I wonder if moon rocks cost as much as dead soldiers? What does the current war cost per week?

Necessity is the mother of invention. The history of NASA has proven this maxim time and time again. Thanks for all the great pictures of past great adventures and hopefully, of the tools used in those yet to come.

This is to the french's comments. First of all, using profaniities is a mark of your low intelect, and education. If the french are so smart, how come they did not go to the moon first. Th NASA space program has nothing to do with what is happening in Africa. All the problems Africa has, the Africans made them by themselves, all they know how to do now, is begging for money from every body.
So, Fabien and company, clean up your vocabulary, and try to get a bit more educated on what is going on outside your miserable little life.
A bon entendeur, salut

Rb, did you ever hear of the colonization of Africa? How about apartheid? Try googling 'african colonization'. You might want to rethink your statement , "All the problems Africa has, the Africans made them by themselves'. Historically, Africans have not been alone and are still not alone in problem causing in Africa. I agree, NASA has nothing to do with what is happening in Africa. It is not likely to benefit anything or anyone in need in Africa, either.

A photo laid in the moon?Looks impossible 'cos they havent got g-force...

I am awed by the shots that are in this series of not only the module and the vehicles, but the way it was done and all the different people who had to be involved in not only the launching, but the incredible pictures that were made of the vehicles as well as the surface of the moon.
Hopefully there will be other lunar shoots for the moon, but as well to the other planets in the Universe that we can reach, and explore. However I know that the new vehicles as well as the modular type of space stations cost a teriffic amount of money, so there fore we dont want any of those items left on the moon or any other lanet.
But by all means plese continue with the exlorations.

They have g force, its just smaller. Like 0.16g compared to 1 g at earth surface.

CAN I TAKE A RIDE?!!!!

Last image is especially surreal.

No doubt! That last image just impresses upon me the fact that we're dealing with an enormous rock...
Awesome!

First, the budgets of NASA and those of various social programs (or, under the current administration, pograms) have absolutely ZERO connections. The federal budget is decided piece by piece, and the arguments are only about how long one side will whine in order to force the other side to give something up.
There is enough money in the blacked-out portions of America's budget to run most of the rest of the world for a few months. Our defense spending alone is double the amount of the next four highest military spenders combined. I think that invoking individual welfare as a waste is mighty short-sighted when simply mothballing a single aircraft-carrier would save the yearly budget of NASA.
Science is always worth it.
Military spending, not so often.
-Autumn

Sail away Voyerger,smile(space migration) for the transmigration of souls. Shine forth humanity! Respectfully, Dennis from Oregon.

Re the comment by Chris in #29. He claims the U.S. spent $1.5 trillion in 2007 on social programs?? WHAT "social programs"?????
The 15 million women in the U.S. who work and have to live below the poverty line, the millions of homeless and working homeless, etc., etc., would like to know what
the total dollar amount was of that $1.5 trillion spent on "social programs" came their way in 2007, and what the total dollar amount will be for 2008.
Or are the billions and billions of dollars in subsidies given to the Agri-business each year for bio-fuels, cotton, etc., considered "social programs"????
In any case, maybe Chris can specify what all the "social programs" are, and what the total dollar amounts are for each of the "social programs".

Bueno esto queda bien para una peli de spielberg, pero para la realidad no lo veo yo y mas tal y como anda la NASA despues de que se acabara la guerra fria...

Fabulous, fabulous pictures. I'm glad that I was around then while all that amazing stuff was unfolding.
I think I've read all the comments so far but I don't think anyone has yet made this point: virtually all of the tax dollars for the space missions were paid to American companies for American goods and services. I.e. the money wasn't lost, it was transferred from the revenue to the providers of those tools. What were they planning to spend it on if not the space missions?

I wonder what proportion of the nay sayers were even around when 'their' tax dollars were being spent on the Apollo mission. That mission was all bought and paid for years ago, which is more than can be said for this lousy war we're all oblidged to fund, that consumes the lives and the health of young men and women of our armed forces. We get to enjoy the legacies of the 'space race'. Our kids get to share the cost of the war for at least another generation. And for what? Feel safe yet?

Las fotos estan increibles, me parece que si el hombre volviera a la luna se quedara en ella para siempre !

Saludos !

In response to #66, as to why we don't just use robots for these missions,

For a lot of the missions, we do use robots - the last Mars probe, for example. However, the long-term goal of NASA is not just space exploration, but space colonization, so we need to understand how to build human habitats, address health issues, create sustainable closed-loop life support systems, etc.

How come none of the black backgrounds have stars in them? If you look at the sky at night there are thousands, if not millions of stars visible to the naked eye. What prevents these same stars from being visible out in space? Anyone have any idea?

"How come none of the black backgrounds have stars in them? If you look at the sky at night there are thousands, if not millions of stars visible to the naked eye. What prevents these same stars from being visible out in space? Anyone have any idea?"

Shutter speed of the camera was too fast to capture the extremelly dim light from the stars.
Take your own (non-digital) camera out at night and try and take a picture of the stars, its not easy, the required shutter speed is so slow that any other light source will over-expose the film.

Perhaps if Fabien is so concerned about Africa, his time might be better spent than annoying commenters who are expressing their appreciation for some lovely photos. And who are the French to criticize Americans about Africa, anyway? Pick up a history book, would you?

"How come none of the black backgrounds have stars in them? If you look at the sky at night there are thousands, if not millions of stars visible to the naked eye. What prevents these same stars from being visible out in space? Anyone have any idea?"

@ 139 - A. Magnus :

Read this page.

Why not?

Because the human eye has adjusted to the amount of light, first by adjusting the iris and then by changing the chemical composition of the retina to make it more or less sensitive. In the pitch blackness of the mountains they're open just as wide as they can be, allowing more light to enter. In the night city, they close somewhat to adjust for the street lights. And inside the house, they are as closed as they are during the daytime in sunlight. A camera's aperture works the same way. To set the exposure for bright exposure means that subtle lights like stars simply won't show up.

Because the sky on the moon is black, we tend to believe the viewing conditions are the same as night on earth. Not true. The sun shines just as brightly (slightly brighter, in fact) on the lunar surface, and so the astronauts' eyes (and camera apertures) were set for photographing in daylight conditions. Neil Armstrong reported not seeing any stars from the lunar surface, except through the navigation scopes (where the eyepiece screened out the other lights). Ed Mitchell reported seeing stars only when he specifically shut out extraneous light.

Conspiracy author Bill Kaysing even goes so far as to claim that the Challenger was intentionally destroyed because civilian Christa McAuliffe would have revealed that stars were indeed visible from space. Sometimes they are, sometimes they're not. With the shuttle's cabin lights on and cameras set to expose for sunlit conditions, the stars are not visible. When the shuttle crosses over into the shadow and you turn all the cabin lights off and let your eyes adjust to the darkness, you see a glorious display of stars. And the shuttle astronauts -- civilian or otherwise -- are quite happy telling everyone this.

I retired from Alliant Techsystems (ATK ) in 1993; I am happy to see they have expanded their horizons from making bombs and bullets to include space travel.

This was a fantastic experience, history in the making and to see it from the moon is just breath taking. There are things today than man would not of thought possible 100 years ago, then fifty years pass and we are headed for the moon and beyond, Thanks for sharing these photos with us.

Eu ainda nem li todo o conteúdo desta matéria, mas estou achando incrível estas fotos. Inacreditável. Até onde o homem vai conseguir chegar?

Translating:
I still did not read all the text in this page but I´m just impressed about this content. Amazing. How much far the man will reach?

it looks like a lovely day on the moon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Take nothing but footprints. Leave nothing but photos." Or something like that.

Great shots, thanks!

from Spain. It´s marvellous, incredible!!! Thanks.

Tanta puta luna y tanta hostia, se gastan los millones como si fuesen calderilla mientras aquí abajo acabarían con el hambre de un plumazo con ese dinero, el espacio y la luna me parecen fascinantes, pero primero vamos a arreglar los problemas que tenemos todos, que nos estamos cargando el planeta, mientras haya hambre y niños que trabajan como esclabos todo esto no tiene sentido.
Solo es mi opinión, nadie tiene por que compartirla.

this wuz effin amazing... i mean to think that that man's portrait was laid on the moon....that was spectacular.
i am only in high school but yet i still beleive that man will feel beatiful and breathtaking experiences that no one will begin to imagine.
look at wat they have dun so far....

the earth look good but dont make earth look bad?

Thank you for sharing creative photo of moon.

Well, a lot of people mentioned prolonging the life of the species as a reason why we should develop space travel. Sure, one day the sun will explode and there's nothing we can do about it, but also one day the universe will collapse. So mankind will end at some point.

Of course, I still think we should go as many places as possible in the meantime!

me too me too I want to goooooooo

Viva ESPAÑA!!

ESO ESO,QUE VIVA ESPAÑA

Nice Picturessssss..........

ooohhh yes i doooooo

Out of this WORLD!

très très belles images!!
Dommage que le texte n'ait pas une version Française.

wow.. amazing..

shalom-peace to ya'll.

about the big tubes on wheels, take lessons from rv'ers, the damn things

are top heavy and headed for trouble on /in the light gravity of the moon.

and why are we spending so much time on the surface, ? when we should be digging , and digging deep. not for core samples, but for living areas, labs, would love to see if food can be grown in moon dust and sub-surface soils.dont import.
if all the countries involved in space travel can WORK together, and food can be grown there, it can be used to get us further out to other planets.

as a hobby, i mine for gold and diamonds in the states. well, it is a hobby, im not getting rich, but; it pays for the gas and food.and its fun meeting other folks that do the same thing, sometimes getting tips, sometimes working together. pity, the rest of the world cant do the same.

be safe,and have a happy, lougarou

I'm 72 years old and I'have always been proud of my country. The pictures are fantastic. I nor any of my family have ever been on welfare, and I think most of those that are, should not be. Being depressed is not a reason for taking my hard earned money, or building a "bridge to nowhere" is another example of our inept
Congress.Do any of these people who think the war in Irag is a waste of taxpayer monty remember 911? If we didn't answer that call we would still be dealing with Saddam Hussein, maybe on our own soil. WISE UP AMERICA!! I am a registered Democrat, but if they win we will be going back to school to learn Spanish. I'm ashamed of my Democratic collegues because they have acomplished absolutely NOTHING. However I am proud of NASA for accomplishing going to the moon and sending out satellites to explore other parts of our Galaxy. They sould take HOMER with them on one of their trips. Then jettison him into outer space when they reach their destination.
GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!

Volver a la luna es una perdida de tiempo....

Wehicles? How about a spell check on the Photo #5 caption. Lol wehicles....

Fantastiske billeder fra et fantastisk projekt!
Og det er der sikkert også mange der"får glæde " af at læse! Lige så relevant som de franske og spanske kommentarer?
Både frankrig og spanien har vist mere end rigeligt at se til med deres importerede muslimer.

Thank you USA.

Awesome images and amazing mission

that man weighing must be about 600 kg on earth to leave a footprint so deep in the moon

Rusia is the best !

america needs to return to the tradition of leading by example, and inspiring the world to make its reach exceed its grasp.

these pix from beyond remind us all how sad & far america has strayed from its true calling ... to beacon of liberty unto the world.

Awsome,Amazing,Daring,Gr88 Mission,Vision, Dream of Future

I commend you for the great Job you did, whenever you are going to the Moon please let me know

Name: GBENGA OLUDARE SOLUADE

Phone: 2348060965878

Country: NIGERIA

Well... i read all the comments and... well...

@ Fabien : I'm french and i feel concerned about Africa... But not only!

#15 : I speak german as we lived there 6 years long during my childhood and i'm very proud of it. Did my family and me betray the americans and their sacrifice during WW2?

#141 : I've read a lot of history books and i'm not proud of many things my country did in the past. But any of us could make the same statement concerning his own country's past actions, isn't it?

Btw, do you know why we lived in Germany? Because my father worked as an engineer at MBB (yes, the same company which built the WW2's Messerschmidt airplanes). He worked on a joint program with the french aerospace company "Aerospatiale". Such a coincidence!

So, i really don't know what i should think about all the angry comments i've read... Actually, i know it.

I just know that the last space program he worked on before he retired was the Cassini-Huygens mission (http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm). Yes, with american people and 16 other nations !! Ten years after he worked with german people !! Past enemies and allies working together !! Moreover he enjoyed the job in both cases. Stunning, isn't it?

Sure, my father didn't help Africa but he and his wife provided for everything their children needed to have a comfortable life and a good education.

I also know that he was the happiest man in the world when Cassini-Huygens mission succeeded, six years after he retired. I still remember his tears and the happiness he shared with all the people he worked with, regardless of their nationalities and their countries' history. I don't feel guilty.

To sum up : Great pictures... Sorry, i have to leave : my Syrian love calls me ;-)

SPEECHLESS, WITH TEARS ROLLING DOWN MY PINK CHEEKS . . . AS A BUDDHIST, WHATEVER I CAN SEE/PERCEIVE WITH MY SENSE FACULTIES, I COULD REACH ....ITS LIKE BEING THERE...I FELT SOOO AT HOME...YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY MADE THE LOTUS PETALS IN MY HEART BLOOM WIDE OPEN....THANKS!

you is in space

I can't believe that astronaut dude left a tacky, staged pic of his family on the moon. Now every time I look at the moon, I'll be reminded that there's trash on it.