Just finished watching Last Man on the Moon on Netflix. It's well worth watching for any fan of the US Space Programme in the 1960s but with special attention on Gene Cernan who was the commander of Apollo 17. Beautiful pictures from the moon, and an interesting insight into his life, how he feels about how he treated his family during Gemini/Apollo, and how life has been since. Came across as a very honest, interesting man. I had read the book a number of years ago, but this is well worth a watch. Few Speedy shots as well.
Totally agree. It must have been exciting to be a part of it, and to see it going on. It was an incredible achievement and although we've built on it (I use the royal we here) a lot, I really did think we'd be further down the road to Mars than we are by now. It just goes to show what can be achieved when there's a collective will.
I think I'm going to watch it after reading this . I've been into Apollo 13 but should acquaint myself with this one
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Haven't seen the film, but his book is excellent. Fascinating guy - the post-moon walk photos of him in the ascent stage are really striking.
Last edited by Seabadger; 5th June 2016 at 01:37.
I just need an evening free to watch it! He was due to visit earlier this year when the film was released but ill health meant he had to cancel two days before. We were set to meet him in Pontefract at one of the Space-Lectures.com events but his friend Tom Stafford stepped in at the last minute.
Hopefully he'll be back later this year...
That the surviving astronauts that have been to the moon are now in their 80's is a sobering thought
At the height of the Apollo programme it seemed perfectly feasible that by the beginning of the 21st century there would be a permanent base on the moon and manned exploration of the other planets (certainly Mars) would be well under way
Well, at least we have the ISS I suppose..........
Thanks for the tip off - will definitely watch this. Always find moon stuff fascinating! The guys who went up there were so exceptionally brave.
I suppose that having landed there proves that we aren't being observed by superior beings. Given the complete mess we are making of managing our home world then any higher intelligence would surely stop us leaving and wreaking havoc on other planets. It's all an enormous waste of time, money and resources until we can do things properly down here.
F.T.F.A.
The astronaut twins Mark and Scott Kelly are coming over in October with a few tickets left if you're interested. I'm being dragged off to a family wedding that weekend otherwise I'd be there too.
https://space-lectures.com/events/
I managed to watch this on Netflix this afternoon
A really well constructed piece that doesn't replicate the usual Apollo documentary type format. It includes interviews with colleagues and family members (of other astronauts as well) and provides some interesting insights into the journey they all went on in one way or another.
Beautifully filmed, absolutely fascinating and at times poignant and touching.
Time well spent - I recommend it.
I presume you have all seen the simply brilliant HBO series "From the Earth to the Moon"?
So clever my foot fell off.
I agree - great series
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Earth-Moon-.../dp/B000CQ97OC
If you want to see the ISS today Ian, and let's face it the weather couldn't be much better for it, then these are the details (for viewing from yours and my location tonight) -
Mon Jun 06 9:53 PM, Visible: 5 min, Max Height: 89°, Appears: 18° above W, Disappears: 11° above E
Ian
A good resource for ISS tracking information here:
http://www.n2yo.com/passes/?s=25544
It was the realistion back in 1999 that only nine of the twelve 'moon walkers' were still alive which acted as a catalyst for Andrew Smith to write Moondust, where he set out to interview them all before it was too late.
You're well prepared! I subscribe to emails from NASA (HQ-spotthestation@mail.nasa.gov) and it's a great service. You tell them your location and they send emails with detailed timings as per my earlier message.
The best view we had was a few years ago when the shuttle Atlantis was docked to the ISS and you could clearly see the shape of the docked shuttle on the side of the station through binoculars.
Enjoy the view!
Ian
It went well. Was 3/4s over us before I had eyes on, but that maybe because of the angle of the sun etc. Moves very quickly, easily mistaken for an aircraft I should have thought.
Thanks for the tip.
Unfortunately no
Obviously looking in the wrong place!
Undaunted, I will try again tomorrow night - its a little later
Watched this last week. Being a child in the 70's, I remember being fascinated by the space program, and agree that expectations from future space projects were very high. Also the positive, pioneering, "for the good of mankind" spirit of these guys is very infectious. (Naive though - as they said in the film, events such as civil rights clashes and Vietnam were going on at the same time).
It's a shame so much momentum was lost, but the cost of the Apollo program was immense - $100-200b (today's money, presumably over the 10+ years) according to estimates. Even at the time the spending was seen as excessive, and the final Apollo flights were never made. (Cynics would point out that the US military budget is about $600b per annum, or the US government paid hundreds of billions to bail the banks out after the financial crisis).
Regardless, it's almost impossible to justify that kind of spending in a representative democracy. This is why we will be seeing China become the leading space pioneers - they can green light such huge project without justification to an electorate.
Thanks
I blame the wife - well its better than blaming myself
Kept pointing to something to the North insisting that it was the station - it was clearly not moving - my guess is that we should have been scanning the sky to the South
In any event the sky will be darker tonight as it will be later
Good tactic!
Well, tonight's details for our area are - Time: Tue Jun 07 10:35 PM, Visible: 6 min, Max Height: 53°, Appears: 10° above W, Disappears: 12° above SE
Unfortunately at 53 degrees it's nowhere near as "overhead" as last night, but should still be quite visible as long as there aren't too many obstructions around.
Thanks Ian - heres hoping for a relatively cloud free sky!
Watched it tonight. Really enjoyed it so thanks for the tip. Remember the missions when I was a kid and have done the pilgrimage to Kennedy.
A sad bump.
Gene Cernan died Monday at 82. RIP. Twelve people have walked on the Moon, and only six of them are still alive today now. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38641121
Last edited by reecie; 17th January 2017 at 00:16.
Yes, I saw that earlier this evening on one of the news feeds.
It would be a really sad thing especially for these guys legacy if we reach a point where there is no one alive that had set foot on the moon.