[joshuahedlund]

This article answered for me one of those things I'd always wondered but never took time to figure out: why no one has been back to the moon even though our technology has advanced exponentially in the last 40 years. An irrational emphasis on risk makes perfect sense.

Still doesn't explain why no other country has done it, though. Well, except for the boring explanations about high costs and no immediate benefits besides bragging rights...

[huxley]

How about moon dust that eats away at your equipment, sticks to everything, and can cause iron poisoning (and possibly a lung disease similar to silicosis)?

“The dust was so abrasive that it actually wore through three layers of Kevlar-like material on [Apollo 17 astronaut] Jack [Schmitt]’s boot,” Taylor says.

That abrasion happened over 3 moonwalks (each lasting a bit over 7 hours).

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080924191552.ht...

[bitwize]

Makes a great portal conductor, though.

[tedsuo]

see my other comment on this post, aerospace tech actually has not advanced exponentially, but asymptotically.