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I assume it's mostly a matter of fuel and how the added weight would've required far more of it. > Were payload restrictions that tight on the return Apollo jo

by nesadi 7y ago

I assume it's mostly a matter of fuel and how the added weight would've required far more of it. > Were payload restrictions that tight on the return Apollo journeys? Probably, yes. https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2019/3/22/18236125/apollo-moon-poop-mars-science https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2019/3/22/18236125/ap...

jermaustin1 7y ago
They brought it with them (in the form of food and water and what was already in their body), taking it back should have been in their calculations.
- cmpb 7y ago
  I think it’s more likely that it was in their calculations to not bring them back.
- nesadi 7y ago
  They also took a bunch of rocks with them, which had to be accounted for. I have no idea what their exact calculations were like.
- egdod 7y ago
  It's not a matter of whether or not it was in the calculations. It's how much fuel you could save by leaving some mass on the moon.
- pwinnski 7y ago
  They traded food (in the form of poop) for rock samples, if that makes you feel any better.
- jermaustin1 7y ago
  Not sure why I'm getting down voted like this. The golden rule of exploration is "Take nothing but pictures. Leave nothing but footprints. Kill nothing but time." By bending these "rules", we have now contaminated a once pristine environment, and new scientific discoveries will have to eliminate our contamination on anything they find. From bacteria to tardigrades, to liquids and other potential chemical contaminant.
  - nesadi 7y ago
    > The golden rule of exploration is "Take nothing but pictures. Leave nothing but footprints. Kill nothing but time." ... really? This feels like nothing but unrealistic idealism to me. Wherever we've gone exploring as a species throughout our history, we've left our mark (usually bad). You might dream of a reality where we change nothing at all, but it's just not how things work out in reality. And honestly, leaving a bunch of waste, which is most probably entirely sterilized and cleaner than your kitchen by now, on an uninhabited astral body with no ecosystem or atmosphere, seems a bit less egregious than wiping out local wildlife or cultures.
    - jermaustin1 7y ago
      So we should not strive for it? They left at most 5 kilos of waste on the surface of the moon for an extra rock?

by nesadi 7y ago

jermaustin1 7y ago

They brought it with them (in the form of food and water and what was already in their body), taking it back should have been in their calculations.

cmpb 7y ago
I think it’s more likely that it was in their calculations to not bring them back.
nesadi 7y ago
They also took a bunch of rocks with them, which had to be accounted for. I have no idea what their exact calculations were like.
egdod 7y ago
It's not a matter of whether or not it was in the calculations. It's how much fuel you could save by leaving some mass on the moon.
pwinnski 7y ago
They traded food (in the form of poop) for rock samples, if that makes you feel any better.
jermaustin1 7y ago
Not sure why I'm getting down voted like this. The golden rule of exploration is "Take nothing but pictures. Leave nothing but footprints. Kill nothing but time." By bending these "rules", we have now contaminated a once pristine environment, and new scientific discoveries will have to eliminate our contamination on anything they find. From bacteria to tardigrades, to liquids and other potential chemical contaminant.
- nesadi 7y ago
  > The golden rule of exploration is "Take nothing but pictures. Leave nothing but footprints. Kill nothing but time." ... really? This feels like nothing but unrealistic idealism to me. Wherever we've gone exploring as a species throughout our history, we've left our mark (usually bad). You might dream of a reality where we change nothing at all, but it's just not how things work out in reality. And honestly, leaving a bunch of waste, which is most probably entirely sterilized and cleaner than your kitchen by now, on an uninhabited astral body with no ecosystem or atmosphere, seems a bit less egregious than wiping out local wildlife or cultures.
  - jermaustin1 7y ago
    So we should not strive for it? They left at most 5 kilos of waste on the surface of the moon for an extra rock?