WHILE WE WERE DEBATING, PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD WERE ACTUALLY DOING OTHER STUFF, AND IT'S SERIOUSLY IMPORTANT.  INDIA, FOR EXAMPLE, LANDED A CAPSULE ON THE FAR SIDE OF THE MOON.  FROM THE NEW YORK POST:

India this week became the fourth nation to land a craft on the moon, and the first to do it on Luna’s rugged South Pole.

Adding to the symbolism: The rising power pulled off its feat less than a week after former superpower Russia failed, as Moscow’s craft crashed while heading to the pole.

The location is a potential gold mine, thought to harbor vast reserves of ice that could yield oxygen and drinking water that now must be hauled out of Earth’s gravity well and enable space-side fuel production.

All of which would boost other space activity.

This success is another sign of a new space age — one with players from across the globe and growing numbers of private-sector ones like SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin Orbit.

Cost-competitive engineering is changing the game: India’s Chandrayaan-3 is one of the cheapest lunar missions to date, costing “only” about $75 million.

The mission is to last two more weeks, as a rover leaves the lander to conduct experiments in the uncharted territory.

India’s future plans include a September mission to study the sun and a possible manned lunar mission in 2024. NASA’s also headed back to the moon as part of plans for a manned Mars mission.

Step by step, humanity is expanding its reach and its horizons. Look up: The future is bright.

COMMENT:  It will be bright if we rebuild our educational system and start getting scientifically serious as a nation again.  Remember that Space Cadet Barack Obama told his head of NASA that the main mission of the space agency was Muslim outreach.  No, I don't think so.

Other nations are now going into space, and challenging us technically.  India, a rapidly advancing country, is a prime example.   These rising countries put an emphasis on excellence and pushing their best people forward.  Haven't heard a word about critical race theory.

August 24, 2023