In article ,
(Michael Petukhov) wrote:

(B2431) wrote in message
...
From: (Michael Petukhov)
Date: 10/16/2003 4:18 PM Central Daylight Time
Message-id:

(B2431) wrote in message
...
And of course you also believe the Soviets sent a robot, Lunakhod (sp?)
to
the
moon and retrieved their own rocks?


Sure I do.

Michael

Dan, U. S. Air Force, retired

So, if the Soviets went to the moon albeit with a robot why do you refuse
to
believe the U. S. went ther with men when both countries brought back rocks
?

Dan, U. S. Air Force, retired

Very straight indeed. There are multiple reasons. And first of all
exactly because it was robot not manned mission. I do not think that
human civilization has reached a technology level to safely
land man on the moon even now, not to speak in 60s. As a U. S.
Air Force veteran can you imagine that

Michael

You can ask me -- I'm an Apollo Program veteran! We DID go to the moon
and land and return!

The Soviets' moon rocket blew up at least twice, before they gave up.
They tried to cluster too many smaller engines and got base heating
problems. A single F-1 engine put 1.5 million pounds thrust -- there
were five of them on the S-1C stage.

We had the technology 35 years ago, but it was just too expensive to
continue. A Saturn V shot cost $500 million, in 1969 dollars!

There is no real, practical, reason to have a moon base.