SUMMER 2019|INNOVATION & TECH TODAY 73
andtheexpertsweretalkingmatter-of-fact
aboutMarsbeingthenaturalextensionof
walkingonthemoon.Sincewedidn’thave
devicesandcouldn’tgoonlinetolookat
footage,wehadtoimagineit,envisionit.Somy
generationwasa generationofdreamers.
“Thedifferenceis,technologyiscatchingup
tousnowsowecanfocusontrulysending
mannedmissionstoMars.I’m confident it can
happeninmylifetime.”
AddedApollo8 flightengineerPoppy
Northcutt,thefirstwomantoworkinMission
Controlduringlunarmissions,“IfI werea
youngboyorgirltoday,I’dbeashappyasthe
BabyBoomerkidswereinthe‘60s– butkids
todayhavemoreopportunitytoflylater,or
workinthespaceprogram.I’mreallyimpressed
withhowroboticsandtechnology are things
they already understand.”
Thebuzzbuildseveryday.Forstarters,this
50thanniversaryyearhasbeenfarmorethana
nostalgictributetoa specificdateintime,
thoughthatwillcomeJuly20.Now,we’reawash
withanticipationabouta habitable,sustainable
workstationgrowingonthelunarSouthPole
nextdecade,includingNASA’s goal of sending a
mannedcrewby2024.
Onecanhearthosetest-pilot,RightStuffold-
timermoonwalkerssighingandsaying,“Finally.”
HereiswhatApollo11’sBuzzAldrin,a
passionateMarsmissionenthusiastthroughout,
saidtothiswriterin1993,forOneGiantLeap
forMankind, NASA’s25thanniversary
commemorativesalute:“Ithinkwe’llgoto
thepolesofthemoonfirst(beforeMars).It
givesyouaccesstothefarside,accesstothe
potentialshadedareasandaccesstosome
continuous sunlit regions for energy generation.
Thenwewillprobablyvisittheasteroidswith
robots,toexplorethecommercialrecoveryof
asteroidmaterial.Thenaswe’reconverting
someofthislunarknowledgetotheexpedition
ofMars,I thinkwe’ll have private citizens
visitingspace.”
LookatAldrin’squarter-century-oldremarks
againsta fewrecentdevelopments:
- Threeentrepreneurialtitanshaveentered
thecommercialspaceringbig-time.ElonMusk’s
SpaceXhassentdozensofsatellitesintoorbit,
includinga nestof 60 internetsatellites.Along
withVirginGalactic(RichardBranson)and
BlueOrigin( JeffBezos),thetriowillbe
amongthoseleadingthewayincommercial
spaceflightsforprivatecitizens,whileBlue
Originisalsosquarely focused on the South
Pole of the Moon.
Photo: iStockphoto.com/shulz
Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
“Thedifferenceis, technologyis
catchingupto us nowso we can
focusontrulysendingmanned
missionsto Mars.I’mconfident it
canhappenin my lifetime.”
~Leland Melvin