Interaction: 40 years from the Moon

Myers: Hello, and welcome to this special edition of Interaction. We are here in Houston, TX, USA, celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 space mission, during which humans first landed on the Moon. In all, six Apollo missions made lunar landings, but since Apollo 17 in 1972, no humans have reached the surface of the Moon. Why? What the hell is the holdup? When will we be back? What was it about the 1960s and early 1970s that allowed lunar exploration? And when will women get to go? Here to address all these questions is our panel. First, joining us from Frascati, Italy is the European Space Agency’s director of human spaceflight, Ms Simonetta Di Pippo.

Di Pippo: Hello Debbie.

Myers: The new deputy administrator of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Ms Lori Garver.

Garver: Hi.

Myers: And we are deeply honoured to have with us two of the most important people from the Apollo 11 mission. NASA’s flight director for the Apollo 11 landing, Mr Gene Kranz.

Kranz: Good afternoon.

Myers: And the lunar module pilot of Apollo 11 and the second person ever to set foot on the lunar surface, Mr Buzz Aldrin.

Aldrin: Hi Debbie.

Myers: Thank you all for being here today. Simonetta, we’ll start with you. ESA has had a number of false starts into the realm of human space travel, including the Hermes shuttle of the 1980s and 1990s, the Phoenix, the Kliper, and most recently the Crew Space Transportation System. Today ESA is working toward the development of a crew transport system that is based upon the Automated Transfer Vehicle currently used to transport cargo to the International Space Station. Will this finally provide ESA a much needed capability to place humans in space without the help of other space agencies?

Di Pippo: We believe so. NASA, of course, is still planning to retire the Space Shuttle in the near future. When that happens, Russian Soyuz capsules will be the only means of transporting humans into space. We believe that it is necessary and appropriate to develop a means of launching humans into space, and we further believe that an evolution of the ATV gives us the best chance for success.

Myers: Well, Lori, that is certainly ambitious talk from ESA’s director of human spaceflight. Do you believe that ESA’s plans for human launchers threaten NASA’s own plans for the Ares launch vehicle?

Garver: Not at all. It is important to have as many options for launching humans into space as possible. We look forward to ESA having the capacity of human spaceflight.

Myers: Well, success for the Ares launch vehicle, or for ESA’s proposed launch system, would bring us one step closer to being able to put humans on the Moon once again. Gene, coming to you now, you were the flight director for many Apollo missions, making you the lead mission controller for a number of key moments in NASA history. You have often stated the importance of the human factor, the ability to solve the most complex engineering problems in the time available. Do you believe that NASA has today the human factor needed to land on the Moon and reach Mars for the first time?

Kranz: I don’t know whether NASA has the necessary human factor now, but I am confident that it can be recaptured. President Obama has put into place new leadership at NASA, including Lori and her supervisor, Charlie Boldin. A review of NASA’s planning of human space travel is currently under way, and I fully believe that can help us redirect our attention toward this important national goal of returning to the Moon and continuing on to Mars.

Myers: So Buzz, in 1961, President John F Kennedy challenged the nation to land on the Moon within nine years. Eight years later, you and Neil Armstrong were standing in the Sea of Tranquillity.

Aldrin: Well, actually, we weren’t doing a lot of standing. We were pretty busy during that EVA.

Myers: Well, regardless, that was quite a remarkable turnaround from that speech in 1961, having just sent Alan Shepard into space, from the lunar landings beginning in 1969. Buzz, US president George W Bush announced a plan to return to the Moon by 2020. Having been a member of the crew that made the first landing, do you believe that humans can land on the Moon eleven years from now?

Aldrin: Absolutely. Gene has it exactly right. The Moon and Mars are important national goals that will not only be important technical achievements in their own right. They will also help revitalise our mathematics, science, and engineering capabilities, all of which are badly needed in the present era.

Myers: All right. Well, setting national goals and the like is admirable, but the truth of the matter is that the Apollo 11 landing was a singular event that united the people of Earth like nothing before or since. Indeed, Neil and Buzz placed a tiny wafer of silicon on the lunar surface which carried statements from numerous world leaders. Simonetta, can a return to the Moon, or even a trip to Mars, capture the attention of the global public again?

Di Pippo: Certainly it can, Debbie. There is no doubt in my mind that when the first person sets foot on the red soil of Mars, everyone on Earth will be watching. They may perhaps be downloading the live video stream, or Twittering about it, or using some other communication method yet to be created. But today, forty years after the fact, people all around the world still believe that the lunar landing was the greatest accomplishment in the history of humanity.

Myers: Well, as you see, we are quite lucky to have with us today these tremendously significant players in space exploration. And you at home now have your opportunity to transmit your questions to them. You can now see on your screen the various methods that you can use to reach us, including telephone, E-mail, text message, facsimile, snail mail, or deployable S band antenna. Our first question is by deployable S band antenna, and it’s from Mike in Washington, DC, USA. Mike, are you there?

Mike in Washington: Yes, I’m here. Hi.

Myers: Hello Mike. What is your question?

Aldrin: Wait, hang on. Mike, is that you? Mike Collins?

Mike in Washington: Yeah. That you, Buzz?

Aldrin: Yeah, it’s me. How the hell are you, Mike?

Mike in Washington: Oh, the usual. Interviews and all that. You?

Aldrin: Yeah, same thing. You know. Every five years or so everybody suddenly wants to talk to us.

Mike in Washington: Yeah, I know. Hey, you [static] lately?

Aldrin: Uh, did not copy. Please repeat. Over.

Mike in Washington: I said, [static] Neil lately?

Aldrin: Mike, recommend you switch to VHF. Over.

Mike in Washington: Copy. Switch to VHF. How do you read now? Over.

Aldrin: We’re reading you better now, Mike. Please repeat your question. Something about Neil, correct? Over.

Mike in Washington: That’s affirmative, Buzz. Wondering if you’d heard from Neil lately. Over.

Aldrin: Ah, copy that. Negative. Haven’t heard anything from Neil. Hoping maybe you had. Over.

Mike in Washington: Negative there. Was hoping he’ll be at the Air and Space Museum this week. Over.

Aldrin: Copy that. I think we’ll see him there. How about you, Mike? You going to be there? Over.

Mike in Washington: Affirmative. Wouldn’t miss that one. I’ll see you over there. Over.

Aldrin: Roger, Mike. Out.

[Pause.]

Myers: May we proceed now?

Aldrin: Affirmative, Debbie. Over.

Myers: Well, let’s proceed to our next question. It’s from Megan in St Petersburg, FL, USA. Megan, are you there?

Megan in St Petersburg: Yeah, hi.

Myers: Hello Megan. What is your question?

Megan in St Petersburg: Yeah, my question is for Buzz Aldrin.

Aldrin: Yes?

Megan in St Petersburg: Omigodomigodomigod! It’s you! Omigodomigodomigodomigodomigod! Okay, my question is, what’s it like being so awesome?

Aldrin: I would say it’s awesome.

Myers: All right. Thank you for that question, Megan. We move ahead now to Claire in London, England, UK. In this E-mail question, Claire would like to know how long it will be before humans land on Mars. Lori?

Garver: Well, Debbie, 2037 has been cited as the target date by Mike Griffin, the previous administrator. But there is no date that has yet been chosen.

Myers: Interesting. Simonetta, do you believe that ESA will be able to visit Mars before the United States?

Di Pippo: That’s a possibility, but we do not want to turn it into a space race.

Kranz: Why not? It would be a great opportunity for friendly competition.

Di Pippo: But we are allies. The United States and Europe work together peacefully.

Kranz: Shouldn’t we be able to compete peacefully every now and then as well? Or are you just concerned that you don’t have the right stuff?

Di Pippo: Beg your pardon? Europe has the right stuff in vast quantities. Indeed, I would say that we have more of the right stuff than does America.

Garver: Is that so? Care to make things interesting?

Di Pippo: Name your stakes.

Garver: If the first flag planted on Mars is an American flag, you have to drink American wines instead of Italian wines for an entire year.

Di Pippo: And if the first flag on Mars is a European flag?

Garver: I have to drink Italian wines instead of American wines for an entire year.

Di Pippo: That is hardly fair. Having to drink Italian wines is no punishment.

Garver: What would you propose?

Di Pippo: If the first flag on Mars is a European flag, any European flag, –

Garver: The EU flag?

Di Pippo: Any European flag. The EU flag, the ESA flag, or the flag of any nation that is a member of ESA at the time of the landing. If one such flag is the first to be planted on Mars, you must, for one year, watch the Italian version of whichever American game show is most popular at the time of the landing, rather than the American version.

Garver: [pause] All right. I accept your terms.

Di Pippo: Good! You should start studying your Italian so that you may understand Ok, Il Prezzo è Giusto!, or Affari Tuoi, or whichever show it may be.

Garver: If I were you, I would be visiting Napa Valley and trying to teach them some way to improve their wines by the time we land first. Which we will.

Di Pippo: American wines are the least of my concerns.

Myers: Well, I believe we will all now be looking forward to the first Mars landing with even more interest. We are out of time, and before we go, we must thank Mr Buzz Aldrin, Mr Gene Kranz, Ms Lori Garver, and Ms Simonetta Di Pippo for joining us this week. Next week we will be back in Warwickshire, and our topic will be sports video games and how they compare – and contrast – with actual sports. Joining us will be some of the developers of sports video games, a sports video game world champion, and a player of an actual sport who is widely considered by his peers as the best player of a video game of an entirely different sport. That is next week, right here on the World News Centre in high definition. Until then, good night.

Kranz: That’s how to reacquire the human factor. Apollo 11 the video game.

Aldrin: And sending text messages is good practise for all the NASA acronyms.