Yup, it takes a budget of a modern superpower to send a few guys to space. Without some massive technological breakthrough, those analogies comparing the space program to Christopher Columbus will remain erroneous.

Space exploration must be viewed in different context.


The fact is Columbus could have landed in the New World naked, and still survive independently from the mother country. Emotionally of course, I see multiple similarities, whether emotions translate to reasonable logistical accomplishment is a different subject entirely.