Arthur C. Clarke, laying out the argument in the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society in 1946, quoted a Chinese philosopher who said that the search for knowledge was a form of play. “We want to play with spaceships.”The play paid off. And, not least, it returned 842 pounds of moon rocks, which provided a diary of the birth of the solar system. Scientists opposed a crash program to land on the moon, arguing that more money should be devoted to robotic exploration. A 1966 poll asked Americans which government programs could be cut if necessary; 48 percent said the space program.

Source: International New York Times July 15, 2019 13:30 UTC