The Cost of Going to the Moon: A Thoughtful Reflection

There was a time I’d have paid good money to go to the Moon.

These days, if I PAY to go to the moon, it’s the pinnacle of being selfish.

I’m not saying I wouldn’t mind being part of a colonization effort. Even history shows that people who were part of that paid to be part of the effort. Most of them were a long way from being rich. They had nowhere else to go. There will be tons of working men and women who go first. I’d want to be part of that.

So, while taking a space yacht around the moon might be the purview of the rich, colonization isn’t. After all, it’s expected to be tough, and a graveyard is one of the first things the new colony will need. Truth be told, you probably wouldn’t be buried. Your body would be composted and used in the gardens to sustain the colony.

At my age, I could expect to be one of the first occupants of the graveyard (there’s a first for somebody. Be the first man or woman buried on the Moon) or be composted, so I don’t think a colony will need someone like me there.

If I could afford to fly in a yacht to the moon, I think I could afford to do better things with my money. Things like after-school programs. A program to provide meals for seniors. Training for Veterans.

In short, doing something that pays dividends in people’s lives.

Paying for a trip to the Moon would be fun. But it’s an indulgence I couldn’t justify.

Nay. I’d try to change at least some small corner of the world.