Aldrin then began fielding questions from the present reporters. After being asked what his motivation for coming to Richland and contributing to the planetarium fund-raising efforts, he said the reason he managed to make his way down to Richland is because the trip coincided with his schedule, and he was able to fly out from Washington, D.C.
Another reporter followed this up by asking ”As someone who has actually been to the moon, could you tell us what it would be like for someone to live on a moon base for 6 months or longer?”
In his joking manner, Aldrin said, “They may first want to learn to speak Chinese.” He went on to explain that he doesn’t think there isn’t enough consumption of resources within the U.S. for us to go back to the moon.
He believes that there are not enough compelling reasons to go back to the moon.
One of the reasons that our government continues looking into moon exploration is for Lunar propellant fuel. “[But] to get fuel to go to the moon, get fuel from the moon, to get fuel to go to the moon makes no sense,” Aldrin stated.
Secondly, minerals from asteroids that collide into the moon are another main reason for moon exploration. Aldrin pointed out that it would be far more lucrative to get the minerals from the asteroids instead of waiting for them to hit the moon.
He did state however, that there are possibilities for future tourism on the moon: suborbital flights need to establish a large enough market for adventure travel that makes sense in Earth’s market. He mentioned that Russia has managed to turn space travel into a business opportunity at the tune of 30 million dollars.
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