Another moon landing will take more than rocket science

YOU don’t hear the phrase, “If we can put a man on the moon, why can’t we…” much anymore. Perhaps that’s because it’s not clear that 21st-century America can put a person on the moon again.

The Wall Street Journal resurrected the expression in 2018, in a story about the cost overruns and bureaucratic snags hampering the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (Nasa) Artemis programme. The headline read, If We Can Put a Man on the Moon, Why Can’t We Put a Man on the Moon?.

It’s a valid question, considering the first lunar landing took place more than 50 years ago during the Apollo 11 mission, the realisation of a vision launched by president John F Kennedy. Kennedy couldn’t have imagined the technological advances that have occurred since then. A common USB-C charger today has more computing power than the Apollo 11’s computer.