Apollo 8 Pilot Believes That Sending Astronauts To Mars Would Be “Almost Ridiculous”
Mars has become a focus of attention for NASA lately. After sending two robots on the Red Planet, it appears that the space agency plans to send human missions as well. However, not everyone thinks that it is a good idea.
Bill Anders was a lunar module pilot for the Apollo 8 mission. According to him, sending humans to Mars is “stupid”. “What’s the imperative? What’s pushing us to go to Mars?” Anders, 85, said, adding: “I don’t think the public is that interested,” he added.
He also added that he does support NASA’s unmanned Mars missions. He listed lower costs as one of the main advantages.
Mars received a visitor in November, NASA’s InSight Mars Lander. According to NASA, it was “leading a sustainable return to the Moon, which will help prepare us to send astronauts to Mars.” The statement added:” That also includes commercial and international partners to expand human presence in space and bring back new knowledge and opportunities,”
Anders continued to criticize NASA, adding that they wouldn’t be able to travel to the Moon nowadays: “NASA couldn’t get to the Moon today,” Anders told BBC Radio 5 Live. “They’re so ossified… NASA has turned into a jobs program… many of the centers are mainly interested in keeping busy and you don’t see the public support other than they get the workers their pay and their congressmen get re-elected.”
One of Anders cremates, Frank Borman shared his opinions as well. It appears that he doesn’t agree with Anders: “I’m not as critical of NASA as Bill is. I firmly believe that we need robust exploration of our Solar System and I think man is part of that.”
As our second lead editor, Anna C. Mackinno provides guidance on the stories Great Lakes Ledger reporters cover. She has been instrumental in making sure the content on the site is clear and accurate for our readers. If you see a particularly clever title, you can likely thank Anna. Anna received a BA and and MA from Fordham University.
0 comments