…a huge amount of money. It's a tiny fraction of star wars. It's in fact, in constant dollars less than the cost of the Apollo program. It's about the cost of a major strategic weapons system which we seem to have an endless supply of money to support.…

…Why with the soviet union? Because I maintain this won't happen unless there is an overriding political purpose, just as for Apollo. But for the United States and the soviet union to demonstrate that they can annihilate each other is unnecessary. They have…

…commitment, the net result would be that we would have that umbrella, have that aegis that we used to have in the Apollo days and I think there could be a Renaissance, Another golden age in planetary exploration. How likely is it that this will…

…Booster. Soviets have a really big booster. It's a Saturn V class. Saturn V was the launcher that we used to have in the Apollo days but we threw away because the Apollo Stunt was done. It's called energia and it exists, but only in the hands of the…

…It's a Saturn V class. Saturn V was the launcher that we used to have in the Apollo days but we threw away because the Apollo Stunt was done. It's called energia and it exists, but only in the hands of the soviets. In addition you want to have lots…

…science. Science was not part of this this was politics. If some science got done that was all to the good. But the Apollo program was not science it was about the strategic confrontation between the United States and the soviet union. And Kennedy made a…

…we should continue looking for extant life. There's no one who proposes that for the moon. The prevailing American Opinion after the Apollo program looking at the moon rocks in the smithsonian was looks just like a rock in my aunt tilly's backyard. That's…

…of. And another activity in space for me underscored this lesson and that was the succession of pictures, but especially the earliest Apollo Pictures of the whole earth. You take a look at those pictures and you see this exquisite blue and white world…

…unit area on the moon as a function of the age of the surface. How do we know the age of the surface? The Apollo Astronauts and the soviet robotic lunar vehicles brought samples of the moon back from different places, got a sample, measure its age by…

…are at least in part based on historical events. The first case that I want to tell you about is Croesus, King of Lydia. Apollo was the god of the sun, but in addition to being in charge of sunlight he had another specialty, and that was being in…

…and then from the pythia, usually in a kind of trance back would come the advice from the gods, or at least from Apollo. Now Croesus was immensely rich. There's still a phrase: rich as Croesus. It's almost current just a little obsolete. One of the…

…asked: how could you do this to me? And here from Herodotus, History is the answer from the god quote the prophecy given by Apollo ran that if Croesus made war upon Persia he would destroy a mighty empire. Now in the Face of that, said the priestess,…

…on the one hand. Now I want to tell you on the other hand, a story also from classical Greece. This is also about Apollo and also about oracles. This is the story of Cassandra, princess of troy. The event occurs just before the trojan war begins, you…

…you know the one that homer wrote about. She was the smartest and the most beautiful of the daughters of King Priam, and Apollo, who like all the Greek Gods was constantly on the prowl for attractive humans fell in love with her. At least that's the…

…this almost never happens in Greek Myth she resisted his advances. She was smart she was beautiful she was happy and who needed Apollo? So he tried to bribe her. But what could he give her? She was already a princess she had everything that she wanted.…

…So he tried to bribe her. But what could he give her? She was already a princess she had everything that she wanted. Apollo thought of something she didn't have. He promised her the gift of prophecy. The offer was irresistible. She agreed quid pro quo.…

…thought of something she didn't have. He promised her the gift of prophecy. The offer was irresistible. She agreed quid pro quo. Apollo did whatever it is that gods do to create seers, oracles and prophets out of mere mortals. And then after he had…

…And then after he had done that scandalously, Cassandra reneged. She changed her mind. She refused the overtures of a god. Apollo was not amused, but he couldn't withdraw the gift of prophecy because, whatever else you want to say about Greek Gods,…

…you could not tell any detail. I still thought it would be useful to do in the same sense that the great frame filling Apollo 17 picture of the whole earth has become a kind of icon of our age, because it said something very powerful to us, including…