Comment Re:Seems pointlessly unsafe (Score 1) 183
A dummy load and some chemistry to use oxygen would do the same job with zero human risk. If they're not putting boots on the Moon, they shouldn't have their asses in the rocket.
The Artemis I unmanned mission flew in 2022. The Apollo Program followed a similar progression to test things in succession.
Which Apollo misson was was "fly the talking meat by the Moon in a can"? Apollo 7 was a flight test in Earth orbit. Apollo 8 entered lunar orbit and returned to Earth. Apollo 9 was a Lunar Module test in Earth orbit. Apollo 10 was a full dress rehearsal for Apollo 11. The only Apollo mission that just sent a crew and their ship around the Moon and back was Apollo 13... and even they had a perform a - heroic under the circumstances - maneuver to put it back on the free return trajectory.