How much would you pay to go to the moon?
The moon has long fascinated humanity, from cultural stories to space exploration milestones like Apollo 11 and India’s Vikram lander. Despite interest, its harsh conditions challenge colonisation. Responsible space management is essential, as increasing the number of satellites threatens the orbit. Overall, pursuing lunar travel is a frivolous expense rather than a scientific endeavour.
Table of contents
Key Takeaways
- The moon captures human fascination, from childhood stories to astrological significance in Indian culture.
- It became a target for space exploration. This led to the historic Apollo 11 landing in 1969. In 2023, India’s Vikram lander also achieved a soft landing.
- Despite the moon’s allure, its harsh conditions and rugged terrain pose challenges for colonization efforts.
- Space exploration requires serious investment in knowledge and technology, rather than a pursuit for entertainment or profit.
- The growing number of satellites highlights the need for responsible space management to avoid overcrowding and pollution.
Beauty of night sky
Lying on a cot, a five-year-old boy was gazing at the star-studded sky with the full moon. The moon looked perfectly round with a slight, faint tinge of yellow. The well-lit sky with stars and the moon looked stunning. The boy could comprehend and memorise things as they came to him.
(a) The sky-gazing boy is now old
The boy is now a mature older citizen. He is an octogenarian and remembers how his mother used to tell him various stories about the moon. She used to term the moon as “Chanda mama” (Moon – the maternal uncle). She would sing a melodious lullaby in her familiar, affectionate voice that helped him to sleep. Her lullaby always featured the moon as a central character. In her child’s dream, the moon would take him to the wonderful world of angels.
Celestial bodies
(a) Arousing
The moon and other celestial bodies have been objects of curiosity for human beings. It sometimes raises awe and suspense. Celestial bodies regarded as gods and demigods who live in the heavens above the sky. In India, the sun and the moon have special significance. They have a special place in the psyche and ethos of the people.
(b) The Moon is important
The moon plays an important role in the almanack. Its rising time, along with its position in the horoscope, is crucial for an astrologer. This information helps them calculate various things and assists in the matchmaking of youths. With the full moon, a month finishes. The night of a full moon is special and called “Purnima” in the vernacular language. There is one new moon night (Amavasya) between two full moon nights. During this time, there is no moon in the sky, and nights are dark. These nights are of special significance. Important festivals occur on these days. “Deepawali” (Festival of Lights) is celebrated on the new moon night. “Holi” (Festival of Colors) is observed on the full moon night.
(c) Moon is the source of inspiration
The round celestial body looks stunningly beautiful. Satellite of Earth, the moon attracted the imagination of poets and storytellers. They used it metaphorically to express the love and beauty of their heroines. For them, their leading female character used to be more beautiful than a full moon.
(d) Celestial bodies and gods
Celestial bodies were traditionally named after gods and sages. Our solar system has eight planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. They are named after Greek mythological gods. In Indian tradition, they are known as “Shani” (Saturn), “Vrihaspati” (Jupiter), “Mangal” (Mars), Prithvi (Earth) et cetera.
Ancient Indian Scholars
Stories and Parables apart, sagacious Indian Astrologers and Astrophysicists used to spend nights studying the sky. They calculated the movement of various planets and their satellites. Sage Aryabhat, Brahmgupta, Bhaskar II, Varahmihir are but a few illustrious mathematicians who enriched the treasure of learning. They calculated the value of Pi, developed the concept of decimals and zero as a number.
Stories and beliefs
The famous celestial occurrences, viz, solar and lunar eclipses, have many stories and legends. The famous story of collective divine sea churning by devils and demigods explains it in a rather interesting way. Despite the scientific knowledge, the stories about the moon were doing the rounds. Among the general people, it occupied an important role. Poets and literary persons copiously used it as a simile in enriched literary writings. The moon was a symbol of romanticism and cool beauty. Moonlit night is a fit ambience for a silky soft romantic set-up.
Space explorations
Human beings are curious. Curiosity doesn’t stop. Apart from romanticism, curiosity led to the scientific study of the moon. Space exploration opened a new vista and added a dimension to the knowledge about celestial bodies, including the moon. Space missions launched. The USSR sent a dog, Laika, into space for study in 1957. In 1961, Uri Gagarin became the first human to successfully orbit around the Earth in outer space.
(a) Improved technology
With the development of powerful rockets and improved fuel technology, space exploration took a long jump. The competitive space technology between the USA and the erstwhile USSR changed the approach to lunar travel. They each took distinct paths to reach the moon. The USA and the erstwhile USSR launched the first-ever joint crewed mission in 1975. This was the historic Apollo-Soyuz Mission. The mission involved the docking of Apollo from the USA and Soyuz from the USSR in outer space. This action paved ways for future docking processes. It also helped in establishing a space centre and sending scientific missions to it. Recently, Shubhanshu Shukla successfully returned from his fifteen-day mission from the space station, creating history.
(b) Man landed on the moon
After hectic experimentation and research, the final historical day arrived in 1969. Neil Armstrong first put his foot on the moon’s surface. He left an indelible spoor on its soil. Apollo 11 carried astronauts to the moon. Later, the Apollo 13 mission faced a harrowing incident which asphyxiated space scientists for days. The Apollo mission continued till Apollo 17, after which it was discontinued in 1972. These and later missions revealed a lot of information about the moon.
India- The space power
India is now a space power. In 2023 the nation registered its presence on the moon. After the soft landing, the ISRO Chief Dr Somanath said that India was on the moon. India became the fourth to join the space club after the USA, Russia, and China. Vikram lander soft landed on the South Pole of the Moon on 23 August 2023. This made India the first country to successfully land its spacecraft on the Moon’s South Pole. Rover Pragyan took a stroll on the lunar surface, photographed, and conducted experiments for fifteen days.
Habitation on Moon
Contrary to earlier belief, the lunar surface is not soft. Its terrain is rugged, uneven and barren. Water is not found on the moon. Researches are going on. Now, they are thinking of colonising the moon after making it habitable. Nevertheless, it is utopian.
(a) Impediments
To materialise lunar habitation, huge amounts of money and resources are required. Scientists say that the moon has a gravitational pull. Still, it is much less than that of the Earth. Special provisions would have to be made to give a proper pressure and oxygen demand for life sustenance. Frequent meteor bombardment has caused huge craters on its surface. The meteors are a potential danger on the lunar surface.
(b) Living in a fool’s paradise
Going to the moon for an ordinary man is nothing but a flight of fancy. It doesn’t hold water. Anyone who dreams about it is an Ultra-High-Net-Worth-Individual. Alternatively, they are a daydreamer who wants to live in a fool’s paradise. Such a flight of imagination is nothing more than a soap bubble which gives momentary pleasure. Space research is important for humanity. Besides quenching knowledge thirst, it gives valuable information. This information helps improve the quality of human life. It also assists in efforts to make the Earth more habitable and beautiful.
Space exploration is not an amusement
Space exploration is not an adventure sport for momentary pleasure. The space is already overcrowded. Reports say that approximately 11700 active satellites are orbiting Earth. Private entrepreneurs are fast adding to this number. Like Everest exploration, which has become crowded and littered, the space is also fast becoming a garbage dump. It is unhealthy for the Earth. Entering the Earth’s atmosphere, expired satellites burn due to the friction against the atmospheric gases and pollute the environment. The fallen debris increases the amount of detritus already existing and waiting for its disposal and recycling.
Futile idea
The idea of going to the moon and splurging money on it is futile and a wasteful expenditure. It is a whimsical idea. It must not be pushed ahead. Besides emotional appeal, it is illogical for the reasons listed above. Scientific explorations are not for mockery. The serious business of Scientific explorations is serious business. It must not be mocked and made a means of amusement.
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