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Gene Cernan has died
- roryisok 10y agoIn case the headline in the article confuses anyone, there still are living people who walked on the moon (for instance Buzz Aldrin), but Gene Cernan was the most recent person to do so, having been on the final Apollo mission. Nobody has walked on the moon since
- rwmj 10y agoAlso Apollos 15-17 were much more awesome missions than the earlier ones. If you had the choice of being the first man to walk on the moon for just over an hour, or the last man to walk on the moon for three days and nights with a car and a real life geologist to explain the sights, I'd take the latter.
- roryisok 10y agowow three days! I did not know that.
- Rooster61 10y agoGodspeed Gene. I hope another generation soon has the fortitude to put forth the effort you and everyone else did to make Apollo happen. It's a shame to see the mantle of the last man on the moon not be passed on before he passed on himself.
- sizzzzlerz 10y agoOf the 12 men who walked on the moon, six are still alive, the youngest, Charlie Duke is 81. Aldrin, the oldest, is 86. Its becoming less and less likely we'll have someone back on the moon before these men are gone. That is a goddamn tragedy.
- dragonwriter 10y agoOn the scale of tragedies that are currently occurring or for which there is a significant threat of occurring in the near future, the possibility that there might be a period of time with no living humans who have walked on the moon is so trivial as to trivialize the entire concept of "tragedy" by using that term to describe it.
- maxerickson 10y agoTragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die. ― Mel Brooks
- gist 10y agoAgree. And a similar thing happens when the word hero is bandied about. Example: - Jump on train tracks (when it's not your job) to save a complete stranger even though it might leave your own family without you: HERO! - Fireman runs into burning building to save people? HERO! (Even though that is the job description).
- robotresearcher 10y agoBut 'be a hero' is pretty much the job description of a firefighter. See also 'badass' for special forces and 'brainy' for scientists. It's not wrong to describe them that way even if it's all in a day's work.
- barking 10y agoThat depends on the fire service. The FDNY fight fires aggressively. I know of other fire services where the number 1 priority is firefighter heath and safety, ie above that of the potential victims of fires. They still like to run marathons in their fire kit and play on the hero rep at every opportunity though.
- freehunter 10y agoIf all the firemen die, who will fight fires in the future? If you're in a town of 3,000 people, there are a very limited number of potential firemen you can have. If they die rescuing someone, dozens of others die because there is no one else to rescue them.
- beachbum8029 10y agoA small sacrifice to avoid angering the aliens.
- gshubert17 10y agohttps://xkcd.com/893/ https://xkcd.com/893/
- ekanes 10y agoHover over the image. Interesting way to add context and opinion, above an image that's flat/non-opinionated. Nice!
- LeifCarrotson 10y ago> The universe is probably littered with the one-planet graves of cultures which made the sensible economic decision that there's no good reason to go into space--each discovered, studied, and remembered by the ones who made the irrational decision.
- oneeyedpigeon 10y agoLooks like we're pretty much at the 5th percentile :-(
- dr_zoidberg 10y agoActualy closer to the middle line, we'd be down to 4 still alive if we were on the 5th percentile.
- bbcbasic 10y agoWe don't need people on the moon. Robots are better.
- mulmen 10y agoWhy not both? For the money we waste destabilizing the middle east we could build a small city on the moon and still have money left over.
- bbcbasic 10y agoThere are enough environmental, economic and social problems we need to solve on Earth first.
- mulmen 10y agoThat's a ridiculous attitude. You could use the same logic to say we should ignore our problems with income inequality until we solve global warming, or vice versa. It turns out there are billions of people on earth with a wide variety of skills and we can do a lot in parallel. At its peak NASA used 4.41% of the federal budget. In 2014 it was 0.5%. We can afford to do more and as we know from experience the payoff is worth the expense.
- bbcbasic 10y agoWell earlier in this thread I heard someone talk about spending money on the moon instead of wars. We all have our own priority order (or partial order perhaps) for how we'd like public money to be spent.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- pjmorris 10y agoIn US history (see, e.g. 'A History of the American People', Johnson), environmental, economic, and social problems were often solved by moving in to new territory. If you can think of the Moon as the Eighth continent, it may well be how we solve our present, pressing environmental, economic and social problems.
- at-fates-hands 10y agoWhat would be the reason to go back to the moon? I'm not being sarcastic either, I'm genuinely curious why. To me, it just seemed like landing on the moon was more important than what we could learn from it, or possibly use it as a remote scientific base or something else. It was the idea of simply getting their that seemed the most important. I never thought we had any long term plans for the moon, so it would seem we've already accomplished what we wanted to do.
- jacoblambda 10y agoIn terms of what there is to gain, Habitation of the moon would promote the development of more self sustainable technology, new and improved materials (lightweight rad shielding, cheap building materials such as regolith construction, etc), higher semiconductor yields, and cheaper methods of producing previously very expensive compounds and structures for the pharmaceutical industry.
- throwaway91111 10y agoIIRC the economics of a moon base (which is presumably what you're referring to) don't make sense in terms of fuel costs vs potential revenue. Could you illustrate what a "cash crop" might be for the moon?
- jacoblambda 10y agowell, the moon would likely only serve for research purposes until space faring society is a bit more established. The most likely "cash crop" for the moon would be serving as a drydock for spacecrafts. The low gravity would majorly reduce the cost and remove the size and profile constraints of said spacecrafts.
- throwaway91111 10y agoI think you're interpreting me wrong: the gravity well is the source of the cost. It'd make more sense to land and mine asteroids than the moon.
- yeukhon 10y agoThanks. The starting paragraph made me think he was the last person ever worked on moon alive until now. > Eugene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon, died Monday, Jan. 16, surrounded by his family.
- vorg 10y agoThere's 3 possible meanings: * the last of the men who walked on the Moon has died * the last man who stepped onto the Moon for the first time, died * the last man who ever stood on the Moon before stepping off, died Perhaps those last 2 refer to the same person, perhaps not.
- blizkreeg 10y agoHonest question: what is the incentive/motive to go back to the moon now? Part of the motive for the Apollo missions was initial exploration. What is the motive now? We've already proven that we can do it. Does a moon base help? And if it's mining for minerals, is it economically a viable plan?
- Sir_Cmpwn 10y agoThe Moon is rich in Helium 3, which is useful in nuclear applications. It's also a good place to coordinate missions to other destinations in the solar system, as the escape velocity is significantly less than that of Earth's, and there's no atmosphere to get in the way - an ideal place to launch from. There are also interesting astronomical benefits to studying the cosmos from the far side of the Moon - no radio interference from Earth to get in the way. It's also a nice place to test new ideas like space elevators from, since a space elevator on the Moon could be built with today's technology. This would play exceedingly well with the idea of using the Moon as a starting point for future missions, since you could get pretty much anywhere in the solar system on a very cheap fuel budget if you launched from a Moon-based space elevator.
- afterburner 10y agoHelium-3 would be useful for nuclear fusion reactors, but only once we get that actually working. If. Also has it actually been confirmed that He-3 can be found in abundance on the Moon? I think it's assumed with good reason, but not necessarily confirmed.
- dTal 10y agoDon't hold your breath on Helium 3: http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2834/1 http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2834/1
- burkaman 10y agoBuilding a moon base would probably be good practice for building one on another planet. It could also provide opportunities for lots of research that isn't possible on Earth or on the ISS.
- xxr 10y agoWhat really gets me is how modern and futuristic the gear in the two photos of Cernan looks--although unfortunately we haven't had any contemporary lunar history to make anything from Apollo look old-fashioned (except for maybe the computers).
- rubidium 10y ago"It's almost as if JFK reached out into the twenty-first century where we are today, grabbed hold of a decade of time, slipped it neatly into the (nineteen) sixties and seventies (and) called it Apollo." - Cernan That quote stood out to me.
- yborg 10y agoCoincidentally, I was looking at my Plantronics headset today before this news came out, and was amused at the fact that it looked so similar to the Mission Control headsets of the 1960s. I then discovered that this is because Plantronics made those NASA headsets, as well as the "Snoopy cap" flight gear the astronauts used in space.
- coldcode 10y agoThe guts these folks had to fly such tiny primitive compared-to-today spaceships is still amazing to me. Sadly back then I always thought I'd be able to walk on the moon in my lifetime but clearly that will not happen. I still think watching a Saturn V launch was more impressive than the Space Shuttle was.
- Aloha 10y agoI've read enough about space technology to have a bit of disbelief in your statement. The technology to launch someone skyward is basically identical, the technology in the craft, while benefited by more modern computing (as well as enhanced material science), also largely identical.
- boredinballard 10y agoIt may be close, but back then we didn't "know". They were still exploring and figuring out what works. Pretty brave.
- hoorayimhelping 10y ago>The technology to launch someone skyward is basically identical, the technology in the craft, while benefited by more modern computing (as well as enhanced material science), also largely identical. I really don't get your statement. The Saturn V is the most powerful machine humans have ever made. No rocket has since come anywhere close to it, despite the benefits of modern computing and material science. The Space Shuttle program killed 14 astronauts, in spite of the more modern technology and the huge steps that were taken in the decades prior. The Saturn V sent 24 men to the moon, and launched America's first space station with technology built by people using slide rules. 13 successful launches without casualties - indeed it handled situations like lightning strikes and violent POGO oscillations. It's the only machine that has ever taken humans past LEO.
- JoeAltmaier 10y agoDidn't a crew die in a pad fire?
- paul 10y agoJust two days ago I watched "The Last Man on the Moon" with my son (on Netflix). Good documentary, but sad to see him pass. Those Apollo astronauts were truly remarkable people.
- Herodotus38 10y agoI highly and frequently recommend "For All Mankind" as another great documentary if you haven't already seen it.
- andyjohnson0 10y agoI second your recommendation - a great film. The Saturn V launch sequence is always extremely impressive. I'd also recommend "In the Shadow of the Moon" [1], which focuses on the more recent recollections of the Apollo astronauts, including Gene Cernan. [1] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0925248/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0925248/
- js2 10y agoThe HBO mini series "From the Earth to the Moon" is also excellent. It's based on Andrew Chaikin's book, "A Man on the Moon" which I also recommend. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_the_Earth_to_the_Moon_(miniseries) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_the_Earth_to_the_Moon_(...
- ColinWright 10y agoI never got the chance to meet Gene Cernan, but I spent some time chatting with Gen Tom Stafford, and part of that covered Gemini IX which they flew together. Stafford was the consummate gentleman and never said anything negative about anyone, but it was clear that he had tremendous respect and no little affection for Cernan. Another loss.
- jxy 10y agoR.I.P. The XKCD (893) truly nailed it. And, NASA made a typo. > He went into private business and served as television > commentator for early fights of the space shuttle.
- csours 10y agoGene Cernan flew on Apollo 10, the "dress rehearsal" for Apollo 11 (the first mission to land on the moon). The command module for Apollo 10 was named "Charlie Brown" [0] who continuously had the football yanked before he could kick it[1]. A little joke from NASA, I think. 0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_10#Mission_parameters https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_10#Mission_parameters 1: https://www.google.com/search?q=charlie+brown+football+yank https://www.google.com/search?q=charlie+brown+football+yank
- pjmorris 10y agoGodspeed, Mr. Cernan. During a recent winter storm, we started re-watching 'From The Earth To The Moon', the HBO mini-series on the Apollo program. Highly recommended.
- gk1 10y ago> The mission included a descent to within eight nautical miles of the moon's surface. Nautical miles are used in navigation to account for the extra distance created by the earth's curvature. Why would it be used for distance measurements in space?
- lisper 10y agoTradition. The space program grew out of aviation which uses nautical miles.
- hodgesrm 10y agoHuh? Nautical miles are a fixed unit of measurement equivalent to 1852 meters today but originally defined as a minute of latitude. They are still commonly used for distances, e.g., range of a Boeing 777 as reported in Wikipedia. [1, 2] They are a logical unit to use for flight to the moon. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautical_mile https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautical_mile [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_777#Specifications https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_777#Specifications
- kumarski 10y agoGene was a boss. He used to walk into my sister-in-law's restaurant when I was a kid. Great person and welcoming smile. Sad to see the pioneer disapear. When we walked out, my father told me "that was greatness, don't forget it." I didn't understand it till years later. I think there's something surreal about the astronauts, not an ounce of negativity out of them toward other humans. Wish I had talked to him then.
- ComputerGuru 10y agoHis words as he left the moon for the last time: "We leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return with peace and hope for all mankind." Amen. Some day.
- owenversteeg 10y agoI see nobody has mentioned my favorite fact about him: while the rovers were designed to have a top speed of 8mph, Gene Cernan pushed his to 11.2 mph, more than a 40% increase of the maximum speed. If 11.2 mph sounds slow to you, he also set another speed record: highest speed attained by any manned vehicle, 24,791 mph or almost 40,000 kilometers per hour, on Apollo 10's return to Earth. Also, prior missions didn't go more than 3 miles from the LM, but Cernan pushed his to go five miles away. This meant that if the rover failed - remember, this thing had driven on the moon exactly twice at this point - he would have had to walk five miles to the LM in a bulky, heavy spacesuit, in unforgiving conditions on the surface of the Moon.
- alexdgg 10y agoI thought it was a CIA conspiracy. No one actually went to the moon.
- sctb 10y agoPlease comment civilly and substantively on HN or not at all. https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- regandersong 10y agoA week ago I found http://apollo17.org/ http://apollo17.org/ which has an amazing presentation of the photos, videos, and audio that came out of the Apollo 17 mission. Gene seemed like a really fun guy to go to the moon with.
- ConroyBumpus 10y agoThere's also some really great material at the JSC Oral History project: https://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/oral_histories/oral_histories.htm https://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/oral_histories/oral_histori...
- edgarlove 10y ago50 years ago we went to the moon. Incredible to contemplate!