From Earth to the Moon . . .again?

The Chronicle’s Friday science feature: this week we focus on missions to the moon, then and possibly now, with the help of Dr Paul Elliott, a lecturer in the School of Applied Sciences at the University of Huddersfield, Oldham’s university partner

‘I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth’

These were the words of President John F Kennedy as he addressed Congress on May 25, 1961. Eight years later and that vision was realised. On July 20 it will be the 40th anniversary of the first mooning landing.

The Apollo 11 astronauts were mission commander Neil Armstrong, lunar module pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and command module pilot Michael Collins.

Apollo 11 lifted off from the Kennedy Space Centre on top of a Saturn V rocket on July 16, 1969. Twelve minutes later, Apollo 11 was in orbit around the Earth and would arrive in lunar orbit in another three days.

On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin entered the lunar landing module, detached from the command module to leave Collins in orbit and descended to the surface. With a mere 25 seconds of fuel remaining, the landing module Eagle touched down in the Sea of Tranquility.

Six and a half hours later, Armstrong emerged from the Eagle and spoke those famous words, “that’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”, before stepping off the ladder and making the first human footprint on another world.

After the Apollo 11 mission, a further 10 men set foot on the Moon before the program was cancelled in 1972. And we shouldn’t forget the 14 other astronauts that have orbited the Moon, either as command module pilots or as crews of the forerunner Apollo 8 and 10 missions and the ill-fated Apollo 13.

Some people say that the Moon landing never happened but was an elaborate hoax.

These theories range from the naïve to the patently absurd; no stars in the photos (they were too dim in comparison to the lunar surface to show up as any photographer will tell you), visible letters as labels written on rocks used as props (with the eye of faith, if you say so… see www.badastronomy.com/bad/tv/foxapollo for an example of one of the many websites that debunk these claims) and many more.

But all these hoax theories become somewhat academic when you take into account the fact that the Soviet space agency (who, as NASA’s rivals, had the most to gain from exposing a hoax) tracked the Apollo missions all the way to the Moon, down to the surface and back. Man did land on the Moon 40 years ago!

So what did the Apollo missions achieve? Was it worth it? In my opinion, yes it was.

Going to the Moon is an enormous technological challenge. As a result of the Apollo programme, the wider world has benefited from the metallurgical and materials research and computational developments from this endeavour.

But there are also many socio-economic benefits that are not directly related. For instance, the Apollo mission inspired a generation of children, giving them an interest in science and engineering, who have become scientists, doctors and engineers.

In addition, the famous “Earthrise” photo taken by William Anders on Apollo 8, showing the small size and fragility of the Earth, is credited with having an incalculable impact and furthering the environmental movement.

Will man be going back to the Moon? Work is already under way on the Orion spacecraft, part of Project Constellation, which is intended to send humans back to the Moon by 2020 and later on to Mars and other planets.

Orion will be carried by the Ares I rocket, also currently under development, and the first manned Orion flight is scheduled for 2014 when it will begin servicing the International Space Station.

We will inevitably have to move beyond the Earth at some point and colonise other worlds.

The first steps toward this will have to be taken at some point, so why not now, why not by us?

Exciting times are indeed ahead.