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bita! sciences can certaioly compare aod
may in the long run be more
significant."
The Long Trip Home
After their record stay on the moon's
surface, and a record breaking time
spent outside the LEM (Lunar Excur–
síon Module), the world watched in
awe as the astronauts launched their
Lunar Module back into moon orbit.
The color television coverage of the
event carne via the camera mounted on
the Lunar Rover, whicb was left behind
on the moon's surface. The rover was
only one of the many items discarded by
the astronauts. Actually, an incredible
$80 millíon worth of equipment was
abandoned on the moon.
Al Worden, the forgotten roan of the
missíon, took a twenty minute walk in
deep space on the way borne. The walk
- the first conducted out of earth orbít
- was not conducted as a space stunt.
It
was vitally necessary for the success
of the mission. Worden had to retrieve
two film canisters from the service mod–
ule, since the module would be jetti–
soned and destroyed while entering the
earth's atmosphere.
WHY the Space Effort?
As they neared the earth, the astro–
nauts conducted an in-flight news con–
ference. During the conference Com–
mander Scott justified the expense of
the mission by saying: "l thínk man
must extend bimself, the new frontiers
must be opened in order for us to
propagate mankind, and
l
thínk thís is
one way to do ít.
"l feel that the taxpayers got prob–
ably - in fact I hope they got more
than their money's worth out of the
flíght. And if you see the size of the
film magazioes that
Al
brought
in
yes–
terday from those cameras, theo you
will see tbat we have, indeed, a great
deal of data."
This data, he continued, would not
"only enhance the progress of science
but it will reach the comrnon roan on
the street directly by the by-products of
what we learned."
President Nixon, in a statement re–
leased after Apollo 15 began its mis–
sion, was somewhat more philosophícal
in his reasons for the manned moon
The
PLAlN TRUTH
mtSSIOn. "Even as it reflects man's rest–
less quest for hís own future, ít also re–
enacts another of the deeper rituals of
his bones - not only the compulsion of
the human spirit to know where we are
going, but the primal need in man's
blood to know from what we have
come."
He then added: "We hope, by this
jouroey, to know better the origin of
earth, the moon and the other planets.
We hope to understand more of the
mysteries of God's great work. And in
this seeking, we hope to understand
more of man himself."
The desire for a better understanding
of man and his purpose for being is a
good thing; however one can' t help
wondering if we are looking in the
right place. Surely there are sorne who
would argue the point. And the quest
for scientifi.c data and knowledge of
space has certainly been a boost to
man's meagre store of information
about our solar system and the universe.
Knowledge of itself is a good thing–
and the right use of knowledge a virtue.
But MISuse of knowledge is dangerous!
And it is this prospect of MISusing sci–
entific knowledge that raises questions
about the U. S.
1
Soviet space race.
Let's not forget the real underlying
reasons that precípitated the space con–
test, so aptly described by Dr. Wernher
Von Braun: "Whether we like it or not,
we are engaged in a worldwide popu·
larity contest with the Soviets ... I do
not think we can dismiss this grim com·
petition as a weight-lifting contest
between rival rocket teams. When the
whole world sits in the audience and
the heavens are a stage, pride and pres–
tige are real issues...." And, he added,
"I am convinced that he who controls
the open space around us is in a
position to control the earth."
Those were the real issues at the
onset of the space race. Have we now
entered a new era where the spectre of
militarism in space is no longer a
threat - an era where the United States
and her allies no longer see Commu–
nism and Soviet military might as a
threat to dernocratic process? Is the
world at peace? Is the cold war over?
Obviously not. America's costly ten–
year goal to put a man on the moon,
and Russia's massive space program, are
September 197
J
both
a direct result of the
absence
of
world peace. Russia would like to con–
trol earth through superiority in space.
The U. S. intends to prevent such a
thing from ever happening. The record
is obvious.
U.S. Thrust Into Space Race
On October 4, 1957, America was
thrust into the space race by the faint
"beep-beep" of the earth's first artificial
satellite. The feat would have been
received with great praise and celebra–
tion, except for one
very distttrbing
fact: The satellite had a "made in Rus ·
sia" !abe!.
The panic-stricken American govern–
ment immediately began to turn its at–
tention to its own fledgling civilian
space effort.
After severa! failures the U. S. space
project was turned over to the Army, a
move that former President Eisenhower
had been reluctant to make earlier, for
fear that it would escalate the arms race.
Now, however, there was no choice; it
was either dive into the space race with
both feet, or allow the Soviet Union to
become the undisputed masters of space
- and as masters of space, the possible
conquerors of the earth.
The space program now became vital
to our national security, and the cold
war was carried into outer space. The
era of "astropolitics" became a reality.
Now, after 14 years, the "lead" in
the race has changed hands severa!
times and there seems to be no end in
sight. Even though America has surged
ahead in the exploration of the moon's
surface, experts feel that tbe nation
cannot rest oo its Jaurels. One stu–
pendous space feat by Russia could alter
that position.
While the two super powers struggle
to gain psychological and military ad–
vantage over each other, the future of
all mankind hangs in the balance. As
long as the cold war exists, man will
cootinue to spend the earth's precious
resources in a dizzying arms race, in
hope of avoiding the ultimate catas–
trophe- aH-out nuclear war. A World
War III could literally be the "war to
end all war" - a war that neither side
would win, and aH humanity would
lose. O