I honestly think that putting a man on the moon may have been a great leap in technology, but mankind did not benefit as a whole. If we have the technology to send a man to the moon, why don't we have the means necessary to end poverty, or starvation, or water problems? It's been 42 years since we put man on the moon, and we have not necessarily made any "great" advances in technology, except for the computer (and the internet along with that), the Space Shuttle, and more powerful and quieter engines for our aircraft. But what difference do the quieter engines make besides a better night's sleep on a plane?
The money spent on changing textbooks was a waste. They weren't teaching wrong, it's just that we were slower than Russia in getting a man to space. Seriously, who cares? We beat them to the goddamn moon, for Christ's sake. It may have been a big blow to American pride, but really? Changing our education system because of what another country did? Wow, the government is stupid, and we have waaaay too much pride.
The International Space Station. A giant collaboration project between six countries. But is it really worth it? Many of the parts of the ISS are built by the US. These are:
truss structures that provide the ISS framework
four pairs of large solar arrays
three nodes with ports for spacecraft and for passage to other ISS elements
airlock that accommodates American and Russian spacesuits
the American laboratory (Destiny)
habitation and centrifuge accommodation modules
power, communications and data services
thermal control, environmental control and life support health
By comparison, Russia made:
two research modules
service module with its own life support and habitation systems
science power platform that supplies about 20 kilowatts of electrical power
logistics transport using Progress vehicles and Soyuz spacecraft crew rotation
We basically control the whole ISS operation.
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