SpaceX is getting very close to building the first serious base on the Moon
Starship changes the entire equation
It is designed to deliver up to 100 tonnes directly to the lunar surface - enough to transport habitats, rovers, power systems, construction equipment and everything needed to begin building a permanent outpost
Then the other pieces come together
Tesla Optimus robots could eventually unload cargo, assemble structures, move equipment and perform dangerous construction work before large human crews arrive
Building a base mostly with humans is a serious limitation
Humans need life support, pressurized habitats, spacesuits, oxygen, food and protection just to survive and work on the lunar surface
But with Tesla Optimus, that equation changes entirely
Teslaโs experience with solar energy, batteries, autonomous vehicles and large-scale manufacturing can support the power and transportation systems required on the Moon
SpaceX provides transportation
Tesla provides energy, autonomy and robotics
Starship provides the scale
Suddenly building a serious base on the Moon becomes dramatically easier
And once that infrastructure is ready, humans can stay for much longer periods and eventually even routine private lunar missions and tourism become possible
Once the first permanent lunar outpost is established, its usefulness will compound rapidly.....supporting science, resource development, communications and deeper missions into space
The Moon could become humanityโs first true outpost beyond Earth
@OttoSam50178310@AnitahAmong@obore I like when new farmers feel like geniuses for starting farming ๐โโ๏ธ๐โโ๏ธ๐โโ๏ธ๐โโ๏ธ
"That boy calls you father, do not bear a hand in his death."
Those who have read the African Literature "bible' also known as "Things Fall Apart" authored by the literary genius Chinua Achebe, will know where that line comes from.
In TFA, the protagonist, Okonkwo, is warned by an elder, Egbuefi Ezeudu, to desist from being a part of the team that kills a young man called Ikemefuna.
The short and long of it is that some chap had killed a lady from Umofia, Okonkwo's village, and as part of reparation, Ikemefuna had been surrendered by the offending village to Umofia.
The duty of raising Ikemefuna had fallen on Okonkwo...and indeed Ikemefuna became a part of Okonkwo's household, striking a close relationship with his oldest biological son, Nwoye.
So, when the gods deemed that Ikemefuna was ready for sacrifice (as was the original point of him being a reparation), the elder Ezeudu warns Okonkwo against joining the kill party because, in his wisdom, Ikemefuna had become part and parcel of his family. Basically, he was now his son.
But Okonkwo ignores this counsel and goes with the kill team to the forest. Achebe describes the "sacrifice scene" as follows;
โHe [Okonkwo] heard Ikemefuna cry, โMy father, they have killed me!โ as he ran towards him. Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak.โ
Fearing to be called weak, Okonkwo draws the blow that finishes off Ikemefuna. The rest of the book suggests that the eventual fall of Okonkwo, a rags-to-riches-then-suicide story, begins at that point. He had shed his "own" blood and the gods initiated the process of finishing him off.
So, why this reflection? In light of the DNA drama generated by Late Prince Paul Kafeero's supposed children (only four out of 25 turning positive), debate is raging. Should men conduct DNA to prove paternity?
My pitch; a child is a child. Once you've raised and provided, forget DNA lest the gods visit you with anger like they do to Okonkwo.