If I may be so bold as to suggest that we probably lived in the last generation of being in such an innocent time. The people we saw on the TV back then were true heroes for sure and not just part of a celebrity culture (though, Lord knows, some NASA astronauts sure lived it up around Cape Canaveral).

The fact remains that the money was spent on probably avoiding a war on Earth. It was a major test period for rockets, without doubt, but the fact that America and Russia locked horns in Cold War challenges such as the space race probably benefited mankind in many other ways. Some of why we know this is such a beautiful planet is borne out of views taken of this humble rock from out in space and who can ever forget "Earthrise" taken from lunar orbit. Some of those pictures have inspired millions. Lots of the technology from space exploration we use every day. We still get the weather wrong, true!

It's not the money spent on such exploration that is a waste. It's the countless amount spent of billions and billions in lost lives, money, and conflict on this beatiful planet. We know so much about our planet because we look at it from out there...

Still: thread drift creeps in. It does not stop us being able to remember those brave men who have died

mp