Lunar Scientists Needed

One of the consequences of virtually ignoring the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972 is that the people who worked hard and long to acquire the expertise to conduct lunar exploration are now gone. That storehouse of knowledge and experience no longer resides in NASA. To return humans to the Moon by 2020, therefore, will require a new generation of lunar scientists to build its own knowledge base.

This generation, of course, starts with advantages the Apollo generation lacked. Today's technology base, for example, is far superior to the one fifty years ago largely because of the computer revolution in the interim. One of the sparks of that revolution was space exploration. Today's science is also more robust. At the most fundamental level, of cours, the current generation knows exploring the Moon with machines and humans is possible; the Apollo generation had to demonstrate that in full view of the world.

Still, most of the current crop of scientists lack hands on experience in actual lunar missions. Some of those with that experience live in Japan, China, and India. NASA is pursuing some of those, and is also trying to develop its lunar exploration plans into an international effort. Several nations have already expressed interest in participating in such an effort. NASA is also encouraging scientists focused on Mars to broaden their interests to include Luna.

Hopefully, this time, humanity will move into space to stay. Hopefully, there will be no more lost generations of scientists and explorers.