Returning to the Moon: Why Hasn't NASA Returned?

Moon hoax believers and non-believers share one central question: why haven't we returned to the Moon? NASA had planned to return to the Moon by 2015, but at present, those plans have been pushed beyond 2020. If NASA truly landed men in the Moon in the 1960s, then why has it taken them so long to plan another trip? They claim that the LM's guidance system was no more than a glorified scientific calculator the size of a shoebox - a gizmo that costs $100 USD today, in 2009. Perhaps the main issue here is safety?

One mission to the Moon did go horribly wrong - Apollo 13. Anyone who has seen the movie knows the NASA story: a huge explosion occurred, and the men of Apollo 13 narrowly returned to Earth with their lives intact. That means that NASA's overall success rate for landing men on the moon was about 86%, for a grade of "B."

NASA does not allow anyone to look at plans for the Lunar Module. They do not seem to be willing to re-construct the Saturn V, the Command Module, or the Lunar Module, for a new mission. Does NASA think that this 1960s technology is simply too out-dated for another launch? The shuttle is almost just as old!

NASA's space shuttle was developed during the 1970s. The technology employed throughout the shuttle is firmly rooted in that 70s period. Much of the technology aboard the shuttle, even today - in 2009 - is still rooted in the 1970s. Two shuttles have exploded, resulting in the deaths of their crews. Why, then, does NASA still employ 40-year-old technology in 2009?

If NASA is willing to risk the lives of astronauts with technology that is over 40 years old, then why not use technology that is 50 years old? This argument that Apollo space equipment (like the Saturn V and the LM) are "too old" just doesn't make any sense. NASA should have already updated their Moon landing systems, and they should have already sent men back to the Moon.

The truth is, though, that there's no profit to be made on the Moon. NASA's space shuttle is - sadly - nothing more than a glorified satellite repair station. The compartment in the middle of the shuttle, and its giant retractable arm, are simply tools for repairing space junk.

The space shuttle travels at a speed of about 18,000 MPH at its height. The Saturn V rocket traveled at 25,000 MPH while leaving Earth orbit, on its way to the Moon. It only stands to reason that, somehow, NASA could use a specially-fitted shuttle to land on the moon. The shuttle itself would work like Apollo's command module, of course, and some sort of landing device would be necessary. All of this seems entirely possible.

Some conspiracy theorists believe that NASA found extraordinary things on the Moon. Some say that the Apollo Astronauts may have encountered aliens, who made it clear that man was not allowed on the Moon. Others say that NASA may have found strange artifacts, or buildings, on the Moon. NASA has an official policy about informing the public about extra-terrestrial life - in a nutshell, they won't. They can't. They can't inform the public until we are ready, and in their opinion, we probably will never be ready. Therefore, if NASA did find some sort of evidence of extra-terrestrial life on the Moon, then that would be an essential reason for them not to return.

There is some talk in support of NASA going back to the Moon. China has plans to go, and that has renewed NASA's interest. Honestly, though, this seems to be a common theme. First, communist Russia forced us to go to the Moon - and now communist China? Moon landings seem to have no greater purpose than to upstage communism! For this very reason, the landings should rightly be questioned. Man's greatest scientific endeavor should not be reduced to some sort of PR move. NASA ought to be erecting permanent stations on the Moon by now.