Inverse - 🚀 Back to the Moon

Wednesday

August 24 2022

On Monday, August 29, NASA hopes to boldly go where humankind has gone before. All being well, the agency's Space Launch System rocket, supposedly the most powerful rocket ever built, will take off carrying the Orion capsule and equipment toward the Moon. This mission, dubbed Artemis I, is billed as a watershed moment for NASA and human space exploration, one that will lead to a permanent human Moon base and even missions to Mars. But all of this belies a fundamental question: Should NASA send humans back to the Moon?

In the 1960s, some of the most influential thinkers of the time were mulling the same question. Why was the U.S. prepared to send men to the Moon when people on Earth were suffering, these civil rights leaders asked? Why indeed.

As NASA prepares their grand return, nagging doubts remain that repeat human trips to the Moon is a fundamentally good idea. Perhaps we won't know the answer until we get there. In today's top story, dive deep into this conundrum and ask yourself: What would you have NASA do?

What's New

Feature

Science

53 years ago, NASA convinced America to go to the Moon — can they do it again?

It is July 15, 1969. Shining like a beacon in the sticky Florida heat, a Saturn V rocket sits on the launchpad at the Kennedy Space Center. In less than 24 hours, it will launch the Apollo 11 mission to land humans on the surface of the Moon for the first time in history.

But braving the humidity just beyond the Space Center’s chainlink fence are hundreds of protestors with more Earthly concerns on their minds — they carry signs reading, “Billions for space, pennies for the hungry.” Their leader? No less than civil rights titan Ralph Abernathy, one of Martin Luther King Jr.'s closest aides, right-hand man, and apparent successor.

“I have not come to Cape Kennedy merely to experience the thrill of this historic launching,” Abernathy told the press that day. “I’m here to demonstrate in a symbolic way the tragic and inexcusable gulf between America’s technological abilities and our social injustice.”

Now, NASA is prepping to send humans back to the Moon as soon as 2026. Before astronauts can walk on the lunar surface, the agency plans to test its new rocket in August or September of this year with the uncrewed Artemis I mission (with a price tag of over $4 billion). The clock is ticking — and every step along the way costs.

New Trailer

Television

Rings of Power’s most mysterious trio

The early trailers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power have been packed full of images and characters familiar to fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth. From shots of the island kingdom of Númenor to moments from the First Age, Amazon’s teasers have shown fans moments they’ve been thinking about for decades.

The show’s most recent trailer features newly created characters and storylines, including three mysterious, white-cloaked figures. Right now very little is known, but fans are convinced they may be members of the Cult of Melkor.

Watch here

Reveals

Gaming

The 10 biggest announcements from Gamescom Opening Night Live 2022

Gamescom Opening Night Live 2022 offered updates on some much-anticipated games, plus new reveals you'll want to see. Here are some of our favorite moments from last night's show.

See the full list

Health watch

Mind and Body

Monkeypox risk in schools

Public health officials across the globe are trying to contain the unusual outbreaks of the monkeypox virus. First identified in the U.S. in May, the virus, which is in the same family as smallpox but causes less severe disease, is endemic in some African countries but is typically not seen in significant numbers outside those locales. This year, most of the cases outside endemic countries have been found in men who have sex with men; the virus is primarily transmitted through skin-to-skin contact or prolonged close contact.

A minority of cases have been found in other demographics, including children. This is especially notable because a 2005 study found that children under the age of eight are most likely to have severe outcomes from the virus. With schools beginning to open, Inverse asked infectious disease experts about how worried we should be about kids and monkeypox exposure.

Space

Science

The nearest exoplanet to Earth could have wild weather

Planets like Proxima Centauri b experience tides hundreds of times stronger than ones that move Earth’s oceans twice a day. The force of those tides also tugs on the planet’s atmosphere, but a recent simulation found that the tidal pull of Proxima Centauri b’s host star doesn’t have much impact on weather or long-term climate.

Instead, weather patterns on Proxima Centauri b, and on other planets in the habitable zones of red dwarf stars, seem to be ruled by the fact that half the planet is in perpetual daylight while the other half is in an unending night.

Previous studies have modeled how tidal locking would shape a planet's weather, but this one confirms that it's the main effect involved in shaping the large-scale weather patterns on exoplanets around red dwarf stars. That’s extremely important to astrobiologists because most of the potentially habitable exoplanets we’re likely to find will be orbiting red dwarf stars.

HBO	Television

HBO’s The Last of Us series may fix one of the game’s biggest flaws

As part of a recent clip from HBO’s new series The Last of Us, we’re reminded that Parks and Recreation alum Nick Offerman will portray the character Bill, one of the characters Joel and Ellie meet along their journey.

Bill is one of the more interesting characters from the first game, where it’s heavily implied that he’s gay. Naughty Dog’s muddled subtext, however, feels grossly dated almost a decade after the game’s original release — especially when compared to the company’s more recent work.

The TV show is the perfect opportunity to further explore Bill’s sexuality more explicity with all the nuance it deserves, and it can capitalize upon Offerman’s talents as an actor.

Learn more

Meanwhile...

The youngest exoplanet ever found could settle a massive astronomical debate

Research reveals the best way to exercise — and it’s surprisingly simple

'House of the Dragon' Easter egg may tease the next Game of Thrones spin-off series

The Sea Snake’s surprising role in House of the Dragon, explained

Today in history: Mount Vesuvius erupted on this day in 79 ce, destroying the ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Song of the day: "Man On The Moon"

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Inverse - 🚀 Back to the Moon

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