Dreams

[julesjones]

Edmund Hillary is 88 today.

On his 50th birthday, humans set foot on another planet for the first time.

Nowadays we don't bother to keep track of who's stood on Everest -- it's still hard, it's still an incredible achievement for those who do it, but it's become commonplace.

Only twelve of us ever walked on the moon.

Maybe one day we'll change that.

Comments

[carl-allery.livejournal.com]

Oh, very nice analogy. :-) And yes, I hope so too.

[julesjones]

It struck me because they mentioned that it was his birthday on the news on the radio this morning -- and although I wasn't paying attention and might have missed it, I don't think they mentioned that it was the Apollo 11 anniversary.

He wasn't just half of the first pair to stand on Everest, but the first person to stand on top of Everest and at both Poles -- and at 88, he's still going to far-flung places. Amazing guy. It's a very pretty coincidence that the moon landing was on his fiftieth birthday.

Pioneers 4 Eva!

[gauroth.livejournal.com]

I never knew that the Apollo 11 landing coincided with Sir Edmund's birthday. What wonderful serendipity. I do remember going outside to look up at the moon that night (full, in a cloudless sky) and thinking "Wow! There are people up there!" That's my definition of sensawunda. I suspect that the first succesful climbing of Everest had the same effect on my parents' generation. The first shuttle-landing ("It's _glided_ all the way from the edge of the atmosphere!!" the commentator said - was it Raymond Baxter? If not, it should have been.) was another moment that was almost as special.

Hillary and Tenzing, of course, climbed Everest without any of the technology that we take for granted as regards clothing, supplies, or GPS navigation, which is why their achievement will always be so magnificent.

There's an sf story - Asimov? Niven? Oh, my poor memory! - about a terrible, harsh journey to the surface of a planet; eventually, by the end of the story, tourists go down there via a lift. I always think of that whenever I hear that someone else has 'conquered' Everest.

Re: Pioneers 4 Eva!

[gauroth.livejournal.com]

ETA: though, obviously, climbing Everest is rather more tricky than getting into a lift!

Re: Pioneers 4 Eva!

[julesjones]

I remember how I first heard of Hillary and Tenzing -- a teacher at primary school telling us about them, and about how incredible this achievement was. Given which teacher it was, it must have been the twentieth anniversary of the climb, and she was probably a young adult when the climb took place. And yes, she had that sensawunda, and conveyed it to us.

It's still hard, and it's still all too often fatal, but it's not *as* hard now. We've developed the support technology to the point where if you're young and fit and determined to do it, you've got a sporting chance of being able to do so.

Re: Pioneers 4 Eva!

[gauroth.livejournal.com]

if you're young and fit and determined to do it

Or even if you're wonderful Brian Blessed!

Re: Pioneers 4 Eva!

[julesjones]

"The loudest man on Everest..."

Re: Pioneers 4 Eva!

[ritaxis.livejournal.com]

There's a guy who climbs Everest on a regular basis just to clean up the garbage other climbers leave there. He brings back astonishing amounts.

And that draws another parallel between climbing the tallest mountains and manned space exploration (no, not that one, you'll be glad to see): the tremendous amount of support each needs from the people down below.

Re: Pioneers 4 Eva!

[julesjones]

Oh yes. I watched the filk video that someone linked to in the comments on James' post -- part of the NASA footage was of the control room, with the banks of control gear and all the people needed to make sure that the ship got there and returned home safely.

It really is a team effort -- not just in the number of people needed, but who gets to be first. There were several pairs of climbers in the team that did Everest in 1953, and it was to a certain extent chance that Hillary and Tenzing were the ones who made the try on the day that weather conditions gave them a decent opportunity.

[ritaxis.livejournal.com]

I've been thinking that I do not actually care if there are any more manned expeditions to the Moon or other space places any time soon. It's not because I don't care about space, though I care about it less than a lot of sf people do. And it's not because I think it will never be especially appropriate again (I'm an agnostic about that). It's because the exploration of space by robot (and telescope) is so exciting these days, and there's so much more we can see and experience this way. I get my sense of wonder tweaked by a nice clear photo, or an announcement about a new planetary body or some complicated discussion I can't half follow about the habits of distant stars seen as blips in a digital record. Things we'll not be able to do with manned space flight for a long, long time.

[julesjones]

I strongly disapprove of the "send a man to Mars!" thing Bush went in for, because it was just a publicity/ego-boost stunt for him, but I know how much damage it's done to the unmanned programme. It might have actually been a useful programme in terms of developing new technology, but they weren't given any extra money to do it. Instead they had to strip the existing programmes for money, and as a result they've lost teams and pools of expertise that simply can't be replaced. Scientists who've been made redundant don't just sit around waiting until they're wanted again; they find other jobs, and they don't come back. It will take decades to undo that damage.