Personally I can't think in anything more exciting that a human being is capable to do than going to space. I mean, at this moment. I'm pretty sure that in 50 or maybe 100 years we will discover some new amazing stuff to do that will be way more exciting, interesting or even mysterious like time traveling, extraterrestrial life or parallel universes.
Anyways, Moon Machines is a documentary in which we can find all kind of engineering challenges that the Apollo Programs suffered, but with a team of around 400,000 people working on a single project managed to turn around in what I think is one of the most amazing accomplishments of human kind.
In the video is explained that one of the most important issues that needed to be solved is the navigation system. When we drive our cars it's relatively easy for us to reach our destinations in a safe and effective way because we have several kind of references that guide us through like buildings, other cars, signs, trees, and even there is a delimited path that indicate us where we are supposed to be going. But now imagine to travel in space where in the first place there is no gravity that help us perceive or help us sense whether we are looking up or the other way, there is no point of reference that tells you how fast or where the hell are you going, I mean, they could see the sun, the earth and other big elements, but moon-landing talking you need a very precise navigation system that guide your ride to the moon in a three dimensional way. Ergo, the MIT developed the Apollo Guidance Computer which provided the necessary interfaces for guidance, navigation, and control of the spacecraft. And one of the most spectacular fact is that compared to now they did it with super limited resources (computer talking).
When I read or talk about men walking on the moon, even if people believe it or not (which i'm pretty sure they did), I can't help thinking about what we as mankind are capable of doing with the exact amount of motivation. I think in many ways and in general that's the keyword: motivation. Motivation is what is needed for any personal or collective goals or projects to be successful. In this case the Cold War, this tight struggle between the US and the USSR, was the needed incentive for both parts to develop things that without them surely the world wouldn't be what it is today. Motivation can take us to the moon and beyond.
