Thoughts on the NASA Countdown to the Moon (Video interview with Brett and Nathan) 2


Humans will return to the moon someday. And they will return to stay.

Of this, I am 100% certain.

However, big questions exist in 2020 about the particulars. Who will return to the moon first? When will they get to the moon? What type of rocket and moon lander will take them to the moon?

Most important to me, why will they return to the moon?

The NASA Artemis program has been established to bring Americans (both men and women) back to the moon. Their current goal and schedule is to return in 2024.

Nathan Price is doing something very interesting and unique about this upcoming milestone. Through his website countdowntothemoon.org, he is INTERVIEWING ONE PERSON EVERY DAY UNTIL NASA BRINGS PEOPLE BACK TO THE MOON to get their thoughts on this historic mission and milestone.

He started his daily interviews in December 2019. As I write this in November 2020 that means he has conducted over 300 interviews so far. And there are over 1,000 more to go!

That is incredible persistence for a passion project. I admire his intense passion, dedication, and desire to learn from other peoples’ perspectives.

Recently, I was honored and excited to be his interviewee for the day. In this blog post I’ll give you a summary of the topics we discussed and a link to the interview on YouTube. Whether you care about my perspective or not, I do hope you care about the future of humanity on the moon. And beyond! The destiny of humans to be an interstellar species is why I see NASA’s mission to return humans to the moon (hopefully to stay) as so important to our species.

Do you agree with me that this is our destiny?

I’m curious what you think. Maybe you can also get an interview with Nathan to discuss your thoughts on the NASA Artemis program. Here for you now is a summary of my discussion with him:

My mantra on how to live life: “Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought.” (That is a quote from philosopher Henri Bergson. If you aren’t a man then substitute the thought for “woman” or “being” or whatever works best for you.)

Summary of my background and perspective from a professional and personal standpoint. The importance of systems thinking, which includes all of the “soft” subjects in a system such as people, politics, philosophy, and culture.

How my first book (How To Be a Rocket Scientist) and my upcoming book (Goodnight Moon Base) relate to NASA’s return to the moon.

The importance of VALUES in humanity’s return to the moon.

My response to the question, Why should we go to the moon when we haven’t learned how to take care of ourselves and our planet Earth yet?

The unintended consequences on human space exploration after humanity saw the iconic “Earth rise” photograph from an Apollo mission.

How the nature of the universe and the human nature plays a role in our return to the moon. (And how this explains why I am writing Goodnight Moon Base.)

The clash between the timeframes of human evolution and the evolution of human-developed technology. (A thought-provoking book on this topic is The Watchman’s Rattle by Rebecca Costa).

What if we take the extreme long view of our current point in human history? The Long Now Foundation refers to this as the year 02020. Try to think about humanity in that time scale.

Is education and our schools serving us appropriately today? We have to acknowledge that public schools in the USA were established to help kids move from the farm to the factories. Many vestiges of that system and that philosophy still exist today.

When humans first stepped onto the moon, it unleashed inspiration and motivation for an entire generation of kids to learn, study, and pursue a career in aviation or aerospace. Historic accomplishments in human space exploration do that. This will certainly happen again when humans return to the moon the next time.

Imagine looking up at the moon and seeing signs of human activity. Imagine the day when young people will never have known otherwise, and older people will remember when it was “our vacant moon.”

To protect and preserve the moon and the historic artifacts on it (such as Apollo landing sites), we have For All Moonkind.

To follow news on moon exploration efforts, I subscribe to the daily email news digest from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (the AIAA Daily Launch).

To avoid living in a bubble or silo of news and opinions, we need to live in a free and open society.

We also can’t continue to learn, grow, and collaborate as a society without valuing freedom, peace, and prosperity. How else are we ever going to understand how gravity works? (And then, how to control it?)

Only through diverse perspectives and being open to new ideas do we obtain the flashes of insight that move us forward and expose us to the magnificent wonders of the larger universe.

Some of these insights can only come from those who experience The Overview Effect – when you can stretch out your hand and the entire planet Earth is hidden behind it. Helping more people experience this transformation perspective is the mission of Space For Humanity.

The value of giving our future moon explorers free time on the moon. The value of sending artists to the moon.

My thoughts on the question, will the 2020s be to space exploration like the 1990’s were to the internet?

My thoughts and predictions on who will return to the moon first. And when. (Answer: the Chinese, in 2023.)

My thoughts on what will 2030 look like with people on the moon? What will 2030 look like with people living, exploring, and traveling in space?

If cost and safety weren’t a factor, would I go into space? (How about you?)

If you want to do something in space exploration (or see humanity achieve tremendous progress in this regard), there is no better time to be alive. Stay alive as long as you can because the best is yet to come.

If you aren’t sure about this claim, read my book How To Be a Rocket Scientist to learn why and how. If you want to inspire future generations to live beyond Earth and venture toward the stars, sign up to be notified when my upcoming book Goodnight Moon Base will be published.

Click this video image to watch and listen to the complete interview between me (Brett Hoffstadt) and Nathan Price of Countdown To the Moon.

Thank you again Nathan for your fantastic daily dedication to collecting and sharing perspectives from so many people across the world on the topic of returning people to the moon through NASA.

My thanks and appreciation to you, dear reader, for visiting my website and sharing an interest in these topics. Feel free to share some of your thoughts on humans returning to the moon with a comment below.


About Brett Rocket Scientist

Brett creates artful work in engineering, ideas, and innovation. In addition to 2 degrees, 3 patents, and over 15 years experience in aerospace engineering, he is the author of several books to foster STEM careers. He volunteers his time and skills as an officer with professional societies.

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