Apollo 11 aroused awe. Apollo 12 evoked curiosity. Apollo 13, which ran into trouble and had to forego a lunar landing, stirred anxiety. Apollo 14, once it was well on its way, stimulated considerably less interest.
One commentator figured that space travel has cost the United States roughly $325 a mile, or a total of $25 billion. Thanks to the Apollo 14 crew, a Bible now rests on the moon’s surface. But what else is there to show for our money? Did we learn of a link between lunar quakes and earthquakes, as between the moon and ocean tides? A lunar tremor recorded only a few hours before the Los Angeles earthquake raised such speculation.
We tend to demand an immediate return of such “practical” knowledge for our space investment, or we give up on it. It is doubtful whether the answers can come soon enough to satisfy our impatience.
