Comments on “Moon Machines: The Navigation Computer”

In the documentary seen in class “Moon Machines: The Navigation Computer” I learned a lot of new stuff  I did not previously know, for example, I didn't know the navigation system used for the Apollo mission in the pursuit of landing a man on the moon was developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which is an interesting fact, because usually government contracts such as this one, and of this magnitude are usually given to other kind of institutions that are dedicated specifically to the development of this type of technology. I also learned how such tasks had been done, thing I found it very interesting.

It is fascinating, how such a simple device (I mean simple because it used simple physics tools and techniques, such as accelerometers), could perform such a complex task like guiding a space ship around the moon and eventually landing it with a manned crew and then return them back to earth safely, this is clearly an amazing task, that required years and years of team effort exploring new technologies to overcome the physical and technological limitations at the time.

The efforts involved in this kind of task take place in a number of places. The guidance system leading a man to the moon, was only one small piece of the whole picture the space agency was dealing with. Around the world and across America, numerous teams of engineers were working to complete a piece of the whole operation that eventually had a man land on the moon.

Such systems like the one shown in the documentary are of crucial importance, because if something fails people’s lives could be at risk, so this is why it is so important to test and develop properly.

I think such device marked an era on our society’s evolution. Humans were able to stand on another planet thanks to the work of thousands of engineers from all around the country and the world that designed a system that could be reliable and safe for us to accomplish such amazing tasks. Hopefully this is just the beginning and we will be able to use our capabilities to do things like this and beyond.