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Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Gene Cernan Interview (Apollo 17)

*I saw Gene Cernan last evening ["the last man to walk on the moon"], on Lou Dobbs Moneyline.  Cernan once again expressed his disappointment at, 30-years on, being the last man to walk on the moon...and sincerely hoping he'd lose that "dubious distinction."  He also discussed the need to get a manned mission to Mars, and reiterated this at least two more times.  He mentioned the need to fire up the interest of youth regarding space exploration, and said that a 17-year-old should be sent on a shuttle mission, considering a 77-year-old has been allowed to go (referring to John Glenn's shuttle mission a few years ago).

He and Dobbs both expressed a desire for further moon exploration, and strongly emphasized the need to get humans to Mars.  Great interview, and a great way to wrap up the 30th anniversary commemoration of Apollo 17. 

--Cindy

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We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

Phobos

Member

Registered: 2002-01-02

Posts: 1,103

Re: Gene Cernan Interview (Apollo 17)

Cernan seems to be making waves lately.  The last I heard he was approached by some physicists asking about the possibilities of obtaining He3 from the moon for use in fusion experiments and he himself has long advocated extracting this fuel from the moon.  If physicists could get a good amount of He3 to experiment with we might find ourselves with a fusion breakthrough before we know it.  And since that material doesn't exist on Earth (except as a byproduct in nukes) it could be a powerful factor in motivating us to get back to the moon.

He and Dobbs both expressed a desire for further moon exploration, and strongly emphasized the need to get humans to Mars.  Great interview, and a great way to wrap up the 30th anniversary commemoration of Apollo 17.

Awesome idea about sending 17 year olds up on the Shuttle.  Maybe NASA could have high school students propose experiments to be done in space and pick as the winner the one with the most interesting experiments.  I think we should send up high school students with every mission.  I can't think of a better way to motivate high school students to consider space related careers. Of course there'd be a lot of objections because of the danger and no doubt the opponents of such a plan would bring the fate of McAuliffe, so I'm not sure how far such an idea would actually get.

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To achieve the impossible you must attempt the absurd

Shaun Barrett

Member

From: Cairns, Queensland, Australia

Registered: 2001-12-28

Posts: 2,843

Re: Gene Cernan Interview (Apollo 17)

Ahhh!! Eugene Cernan.

    You gotta love that man!!
                                           

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The word 'aerobics' came about when the gym instructors got together and said: If we're going to charge $10 an hour, we can't call it Jumping Up and Down.   - Rita Rudner