dichroic | If you ever want something depressing to think about… (Reply)

In the history of humanity, only 12 people have walked on the Moon. Only 7 of those are still alive, and the youngest of them is now 80. If we don’t get a move on, it’s likely that within the he next 20 years or so, there will be no one alive who has set foot on any astronomical body other than Earth.

If you still need more to depress you, all 12 of those were straight (as far as I know) white Christian men, even though none of those characteristics has any relevance to anyone’s ability to be a good astronaut. I’d have been out on two counts, myself. You can make a pretty good case that astronauts are our best and brightest (if you ever doubt it, don’t look at the minimum requirements, look at the bios of those who are actually selected). If we’ve made no other progress in the last 50 years, at least we don’t use those unimportant characteristics in determining who is the best among us any more.

(RIP Edgar Mitchell, Lunar Module Pilot of Apollo 14.)

Mirrored from Dichroic Reflections.