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One of the first men to enter the orbit of the moon told the BBC that it was "stupid" to plan human missions on Mars.
Bill Anders was the pilot of the Apollo 8 mission
Bill Anders, pilot of the Apollo 8 spacecraft, the first to leave Earth's orbit, said that sending crews to Mars was "almost ridiculous".
NASA, the US aerospace agency, is currently planning new human expeditions on the moon.
The agency wants to understand what skills and technologies will be needed to enable a future human visit to Mars.
Anders, 85, said he supported unmanned programs, "mainly because it's not a problem. they are very cheap. " But he says that there is no popular support for financing much more expensive human shipments.
"What's the need? What's driving us to go on Mars?", He asked, adding, "I do not think the public is interested so much."
Robots explore Mars. Last month, the InSight probe – which will collect samples from the planet – has successfully landed on the planet.
In a statement, NASA announced that it "was making a sustainable return to the moon, which would help us prepare to send astronauts to Mars."
space and bring new knowledge and opportunities. "
NASA plans to send astronauts to Mars
In December 1968, Anders and his colleagues Frank Borman and Jim Lovell left Cape Canaveral, Florida for ten laps around the Moon. hours in orbit before returning to Earth.
They fell in the Pacific on December 27, only 4,500 meters from their target. The group was badembled by the USS Yorktown.
The men had arrived at this point – a crucial step for Apollo 11, which was to land seven months later on the moon.
But the former astronaut criticizes the trajectory of NASA since the time when President John F. Kennedy had promised to bring man to the moon by the time the late 1960s.
“/>& # 39; Earthrise & # 39; is the first color photo of the Earth made by a human, legacy of Apollo 8.
Anders also criticizes the decision of the agency to make a decision about it, and that it would "act" to focus on the exploration of the site. orbits close to the Earth after the end of the Apollo program in the 70s. "I think the Space Shuttle was a big mistake, that it's done practically nothing else than it was." an exciting launch and that she has never kept her promises, "he said.
"The space station is only there because there was the space shuttle and vice versa NASA has mismanaged the program piloted since the last lunar landing."
This is a sight that may seem surprising to a proud patriot who still remembers his mission with great joy. It's also an opinion that, according to Anders, can cause embarrbadment in the space community.
"I'm not a very popular guy on NASA for saying that, but that's what I think."
Legacies of Apollo
Apollo astronauts astronauts prepare to take off "Apollo prepares to take off
His former teammate Frank Borman, who commanded the Apollo 8 expedition and spent two more weeks on Earth's orbit during the Gemini program, is slightly more optimistic.
] "I'm not as critical of NASA as Bill," he told the BBC. "I believe we need to do a thorough exploration of the solar system, and the man should be part of it."
Asked about the projects of Space X's founder, Elon Musk, and Amazon's founder, Jeff Bezos, who spoke about the launch.
"I think there is madness around Mars that is crazy." Musk and Bezos are talking about settling on Mars, it's crazy. "
Reflecting on his historic mission on the Moon, Borman described Apollo 8 as" a great success. "
Anders said the most enduring legacy of the mission is" the uplift of the Earth ", a photo taken by the crew showing the our planet in the darkness of space, above the lunar horizon – the first color photo of the Earth made by a human
Another colleague of the duo, Jim Lovell, also spoke about the moment of the photo. "When I looked at the Earth, I started thinking why I'm here, what was my goal here … It has somehow awakened me. "
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