How Much Does it Cost to Put a Man on the Moon?
The moon landing was one of the most important milestones in scientific and technological history. It took the American government, many people from around the world, thousands of years of human advancement, and a lot of money to get us there. The amount the government spent on the moon missions is well-known: 25 billion dollars.
The U.S. government's big spending was well-spent on the moon missions. The money helped improve aircraft, rockets, and other space-based technologies. The cost of each space flight was estimated to be $1.7 billion. The price of taking a man to the moon has changed.
Understanding The Reasons and Costs in Better Detail
Over the years, the price of space travel has greatly decreased and is expected to continue to decline. The cost of a space shuttle launch was $450 million in 2011 and only $133 million in 1985 (in 2010 dollars). New spacecraft being built today, such as the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), are expected to cost $11 billion. At the same time, NASA's budget today is less than half its peak in 1966 at 0.
1. inflation
In 1962, the cost of sending a man to the moon was $116.7 billion in today's money (about $800 billion in 2011 dollars). By 1969, inflation had greatly eroded the real value of this expenditure compared with 1990 dollars; both NASA and the Nixon administration believed that "a quantifiable return on investment" was not possible in such a short period. Inflation has changed the amount of money spent on the mission to put a man on the moon. NASA spent $6 billion for space-shuttle launches in 2011 and still more for ground support and related hardware.
2. Technology
The technology change has affected the cost of human spaceflight. The computer has become an essential part of modern space technology, and the computer's price has changed drastically over the years. In 1962, the Apollo mission used a projected budget of $1 billion to send men to the moon. The original budget was meant to provide enough thrust solely from fuel-burning engines to take a crewed spacecraft to orbit. More money was allocated for launch vehicles and other support systems, such as life support and power systems. The amount of money spent has increased to over 22 billion dollars. Today, spacecraft are launched from the space shuttle on a much smaller budget and with fewer staff members.
3. The Launch Vehicle Type
Many factors go into the price of launching a rocket, but there are two main factors: the quantity ordered and the production time of the missiles. The Space Shuttles were produced over a short period at a relatively low cost compared to modern launch vehicles. A unit price for one was $133 million (2010 dollars). NASA's specific orders for these Shuttles were $1 billion in 2010 dollars for 26 units. It has cost 2.5 billion dollars to launch a single Space Shuttle.
4. Space Shuttle's Main Fuel
The main fuel for the Shuttles has been used for the last 30 years and is still being used today. The main power is liquid hydrogen fuel. This fuel takes a long time to break down, but it is low in cost, at $121 per pound. Liquid hydrogen performs better than the solid rocket boosters used in the past. It has helped reduce the cost of space travel. The price of a pound of solid, liquid, or gaseous hydrogen was $51 per pound in 1962 and $120 per pound in 2011.
5. The Shuttle Design
The design of the Shuttles has stayed the same since its beginning in 1967. the plan is still worth using today. The construction of the Shuttle is made up of aluminum and steel, a material everyone has access to. The Shuttles are assembled in California and Florida using a computer-aided manufacturing process, which greatly lowers production costs. In the future, it is believed that space travel will be even cheaper and more accessible by building off previous designs and making them reusable. It has reduced the cost of space travel.
6. Don't Want to Spend Money on Space Travel
The United States is one of the few countries left in the Space Race. Russia and China are still competing with the United States to put a man in space. NASA's funding has decreased drastically since its launch in 1958, from 4 percent of NASA's budget in 1968 to only 0.5 percent of its budget in 2011. If a shuttle is sent to space, it only has one opportunity to do its job because it is destroyed upon reentry into Earth's atmosphere. This has been a big part of the funding problem. The cost of the Shuttle is about $450 million per launch.
7. Resources
The Apollo program has very specific requirements that must be met to send a man to the moon. These requirements include a computer, power, a life support system, and navigation. The availability of these resources would greatly affect the cost of space travel.NASA has to be selective in choosing the material they use while trying to remain within budget. It has affected moon shot cost, which has increased from 116 billion dollars to 22.5 billion dollars. To help lower the cost of space travel, NASA has decided to make all future shuttles reusable, which will be similar to the design of the X-15 that was built in 1959.
8. Political Climate
The atmosphere on Earth plays a big part in determining how much money should go into space exploration because it directly relates to international relations between countries and how they see each other. It has affected the cost of the space program. The United States believed that leaving the moon short-circuited international racing for space. It has involved the cost of human spaceflight. over the years, politicians have used the expense of space exploration to justify funding for defense and foreign policy programs.
9. Space Race
The space race was a competition between the Soviet Union and the United States, then Western Bloc countries, to see who could send a person to the moon first. The U.S. space program outperformed its opposition from 1957 to 1968 and gained a significant lead over the Soviet Union by 1969. This lead was large enough that President Richard Nixon believed that America's goal of landing a man on the moon was unattainable under proposed budgets. He did not want to spend money on space exploration any longer. This has changed the cost of the space program because the U.S. government did not want to spend any more money on this.