Andy Rooney, the old guy who blabs away on 60 Minutes, is cynical about the USA sending people back to the Moon. Well, perhaps he has a point. For the time being, outer space can be explored a lot more thoroughly and a lot more safely using machines. I’ve heard the argument made that there’s nothing like really being there when you’re exploring new territory. But let’s face it; human beings can’t really experience the Moon or Mars or anything else beyond our planet’s atmosphere. They would have to be cocooned in highly protective outfits and stay in isolated bases, due to all the radiation, heat, cold and lack of air. It’s not like they could go outside and touch or smell or taste anything, which is what human exploration has always been about. So I’ll give Andy a pass on this issue.

But actually, I recall Andy Rooney also being cynical about the original Apollo moon landing program from the late 60’s and early 70’s. About 5 or 6 years ago, I heard him on 60 Minutes complaining about a promise that NASA made about the great discoveries that would be made regarding the moon;s formation. Andy said that he didn’t remember ever getting that report. Well, that’s because it hadn’t been written yet. Actually, that report only came in recently. Not long ago, moon scientists finally reached consensus that the earth was hit by another planet about 4.5 billion years ago. A lot of the earth’s surface was scraped off in the process, and the stuff eventually congealed into the Moon. That’s why the Moon doesn’t have much iron, as opposed to the Earth, whose core is almost all iron.

They now call this story “the Big Whack”. And it took a while to gel. Science can be a slow and cautious process. As it should be. Sorry for the wait, Andy. Sometimes, it takes time to get it right. But now that we’ve got the moon right, well . . . . perhaps it’s time to move on to some bigger and bolder science ventures, way out there in the blue. But as far as sending people along with our probes . . . . we’re gonna have to be patient about that. Just as Andy Rooney should have patient about the moon rocks report.