Take me to the Moon

Point and counterpoint.

Why go to the moon? by Fred Elbel

I used to read science fiction. Woke movie services like Netflix have it all wrong when they lump science fiction with horror and monster flicks. Science fiction is the extension of human experience based upon rational extrapolation of technology and our understanding of physics. Science fiction explores and expands the realm of possibilities.

Space exploration has pushed the envelope of technological development, yielding a surprising number of technological advances and spinoffs. Even leftist wikipedia has a list.

The drive to reproduce and expand into challenging ecological niches is a characteristic of all successful species. Humans, as an exploratory species, have diversified and conquered hostile environments, ranging from African deserts to Ice Age Europe.

When Columbus was born, the 800 year defense against Islamic jihad was at an all-time high. Columbus was chartered to launch a "final and definite Crusade against Islam by way of the Indies," during which he discovered America - a magnificent example of the fruits of exploration.

It is a natural expression of human nature to want to explore the unknown and to reach toward the stars. Indeed, deliberately limiting our species to eventual extinction on a minor planet may do unfathomable damage to the human psyche. Exploring space allows us to develop and express our deepest human potential.

Lastly, establishment of a permanent moon base is necessary in order to preempt Communist China from doing so and claiming the moon as territory of the CCP. Artemis is the first step of this endeavor.

After that, we'll have 5-8 billion years to ponder if and how we will escape the solar system when the Sun becomes a true red giant (leftist wikipedia also has a timeline).

For now, temperance is advised when envisioning humanity as a space-faring race. In our current form, we are too fragile and short-lived to withstand the the harshness and the tremendous distances and timeframes involved with interstellar travel.

What's the Point of Rocketing to the Moon and Mars? by Frosty Wooldridge

With countless problems facing humans on planet Earth, does anyone wonder why we're spending billions of tax dollars on shooting a manned rocket to the moon? And, ultimately to Mars?

Couldn't that money be spent on bettering Americans right here, right now?

The Artemis space program is projected to cost approximately $93 billion by the end of 2026, according to a NASA Office of Inspector General report. Development for key elements, including the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion capsule, has cost over $24 billion and $20 billion respectively as of 2022. Key cost aspects of the program include:

• Cost Per Launch: Each Artemis SLS/Orion launch is estimated to cost roughly $4.1 to $4.2 billion.
• Total Program Investment: The total cost from 2012–2025 includes $53 billion spent on development and over $40 billion on operations.
• Future Costs: While the initial cost to 2025 is $93 billion, estimates suggest a total cost of over $100 billion including ongoing developmental hardware.

Today, in 2026, one in six American children lives in "food insecurity." As of 2024–2025, over 14 million American children live in food-insecure households, representing approximately 1 in 5 children in the U.S.. Data indicates a rise in child food insecurity, with 751,000 children experiencing "very low food security" (meaning their food intake was reduced or disrupted) and many more experiencing less severe insecurity.

• Impacted Population: About 14.1 million children live in food-insecure households, according to 2024 USDA data.
• Young Children: Nearly 2 million children under the age of 3 live in food-insecure households.
• Direct Impact: In 2025, roughly 7.3 million children were in households where both adults and children were food insecure.

We're blasting through tens of billions of dollars in Ukraine, Iran and Gaza.

We're paying billions in interest on our $38 trillion national debt.

We've lost over 270,000 drug related American deaths to the fentanyl invasion of our country. Yet, we haven't solved the problem of drug-addiction in America.

Our inner cities "boil" with hopelessness: poor schools, poorer teachers, turning out illiterate kids by the millions, 7 out of 10 African-American children lack a father, no after school programs, and the list grows.

We lack a national bottle, can, plastic container recycling law that wastes billions of dollars of natural resources.

We've got 25 million illegal aliens roaming our country causing terrorist events such as in Dearborn, Michigan at a synagogue, killing our citizens such as Sheridan Gorman in Chicago, Illinois, and disrupting our entire society.

The bet is, you could name another dozen problems not being solved at the local or national levels.

Yet, we blast off to the moon with four astronauts in Artemis II to circle the moon, and come back to Earth for a splashdown. What will they have accomplished? Answer: a very expensive ride in space, but nothing more.

All the top NASA people brag about a colony on the moon. Then, a colony on Mars. What does that accomplish?...

Why are we spending billions if not trillions of dollars to fly the moon and Mars, when we've got countless problems here in America that have not been solved?

What about planting billions of trees on Earth to absorb our carbon footprint of 100 million barrels of oil being burned 24/7?

What about solving the 170 trillion pieces of plastic sunk or floating in/on our oceans? Do we really think we can keep trashing the oceans with our chemicals and plastics…and suffer no consequences? Reefs across the world are dying. Has anyone stopped the slaughter of 100,000,000 sharks annually?

What about the horrendous animal extinction rates occurring daily across the globe?

Key Details on Daily Extinction Rates:

• The 150 Species Estimate: The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity indicates that up to 150 species are lost daily, frequently due to habitat loss, pollution, and climate change.
• Rapid Decline: Scientists report that we are experiencing a sixth mass extinction event, where one unique life form may be erased every 10 minutes.
• Main Causes: The highest drivers of these daily losses include industrialized agriculture, deforestation, illegal hunting, and wildlife trade.

Do these extinction rates disturb you? They should because the Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson said we will lose 1/3 of our vertebrate animals by 2050, and up to 1/2 by end of the century. That includes elephants, tigers, lions, leopards… and just about any animals that get in the way of human expansion.

As it is, we lose 1,000,000 vertebrate animals in the USA DAILY from road-kills.

"Based on global road network extrapolations, researchers and conservationists estimate that approximately 5.5 million vertebrates (mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians) are killed on roads every single day."

Again, what's the point of rocketing to the moon and Mars when we're destroying the only planet that features water, rain, snow, jungles, grasslands, animals, plants, birds and creative magic all around us on this miracle of a planet out in the middle of space?