Page 177 - Deep Space News Today

He told you how risky it is. we need to start with the moon. its only three days away. we can learn an awful lot about reducing the risk of actually landing on mars. we dont know all the technical ways in which that will be accomplished. the moon can help us do that. the moons resources may play a very important part for a mars mission but the energy resources. >> neil: i know when gene was alive, talking about the fact that all these countries now are pursuing space initiatives of their own. th...

For space as a little kid. he said neil, why? i said because i dreamed of an astronaut myself. my parents took me to nasa. i looked at the tiny compartment where you squeeze yourselves in and i gave up on the astronaut dreams and settled to become an anchor. he said you made a wise choice. but in so doing, in pensacola, florida where a special homage to the space program exists to this day to remind people of our greater moments, kids, adults, those of all ages were fascinated just to see him. t...

The space launch system that is well into development at the marshall space flight center and launching facilities at the kennedy center. i just visited there and was flabbergasted how much has been done, the test facilities that had been put in, about to be used and looking for the first launch next year sometime. this new so-called sls, space launch system. we have the orion space craft launch system. compare kennedy with trump, its very similar. if he decides he wants a major initiative in sp...

Cernans passing. its like america is reliving those young days. so many young people, my son included, shocked that we were doing all those things. >> yeah, my wife and i saw that picture last night. i was amazed also that in the early days, you know, when things were still with calculators and we called them computer gals, that they did a great job. the movie has a lot of good things to it. >> neil: it does harken back to a great time. obviously not only the role that we played in the space pro...

Gene would bemoan, now were hitching rides into space. he hoped it would be short-lived. he lamented the times of john kennedy when that was our vision and goal and drove us. freely acknowledging much of that was competing with the russians to be first. worrying if we didnt have that to back us up, we backed out. what do you think? >> its interesting. i always tried to look forward and be positive about what the future may hold. right now i would suggest the president-elect trump has the positio...

That we brought back a record 240 pounds of lunar samples. the descriptions and documentation photographs that go to them. those are still being used by scientists throughout the world, as a matter of fact, to try to better understand our own earth and to, of course, better understand the moon. >> neil: harrison, you think well get back there? some have talked about going to the moon again as a jumping board for other ventures. what do you think? >> i think ultimately we will. somebody will. i h...

Short lived. eventually well command our own destiny. but we still by and large are hitching rides into space. how long you think that will be? >> thats a good question, neil. i dont know. depends on how quickly we can build the rockets to do that and also the space craft. i dont know if theres a definite time. whether the international space station will still be up there by the time were ready to send astronauts up there. its going to be kind of interesting in the future as to what really happ...

>> neil: its hard to believe looking at it at the at the time that that would be the last man to walk on the moon. he was. gene cernan telling me that was the magic of the moment. i asked him what happened to that moment when we did our own space special all those years later. >> neil: you look up at the moon. your kids look up, your grandkids look up at the moon. you were the last human being to touch that surface. how does that make you feel? >> humble. i dont often -- i dont look up at the ma...

Across the board from space to wherever. i got nine grandkids. those are the ones that i am concerned about. >> neil: you look up at the moon. your kids look up at the moon. your grandkids look up at the moon. you were the last human being to touch that surface. how does that make you feel? >> humble. i dont often -- i dont look up at the man and say, man, what a great guy you are. youre the last guy that went to the moon. i do it when you ask me. >> neil: and i had the pleasure of asking him ag...

Its in moth balls now. its like a relic. its like a rusted museum piece. >> neil, thats the only place in the entire world that human beings, americans, have left this planet and called another world, what you allow me to call, and it was. it was a home. its incredible to see it the way it is. >> i dont know how we got where we are today, but we dont have leadership in space. we dont have a desire to be excellent. how can we have any of that? we have no mission, no goal, no plans for the future....