Boris Johnson compares Irish backstop issue to the Moon landing and the internet has thoughts

Boris Johnson has compared the contentious issue of the Northern Irish border to the moon landing, arguing that if the Apollo 11 mission succeeded, so too should there be a solution to the backstop issue.

The prime minister forerunner penned a Daily Telegraph column where he argued that it really shouldn’t be that hard to solve the political issue, because the world managed to get on the moon.

“If they could use hand-knotted computer code to make a frictionless re-entry to Earth’s atmosphere in 1969, we can solve the problem of frictionless trade at the Northern Irish border,” he wrote.

There is no task so simple that government cannot overcomplicate if it doesn’t want to do it. And there are few tasks so complex that humanity cannot solve if we have a real sense of mission to pull them off. It is time this country recovered some of its can-do spirit.

Scientific experts were some of the first to correct him – space travel is not “frictionless”.

Aerospace engineer Max Fagin offered to give him a seminar of the topic.

1) The Apollo reentry wasn't 'frictionless".

2) It's not friction that causes most of the heat on reentry. It's radiative transfer from the glowing shockwave.

3) I'll be in the UK for another day. Trade you a seminar on this subject for a tour of Parlament? [SIC]

#Brexit #Apollo50th​

Others teachers, scientists and professionals chimed in, too

There’s also the small detail that Apollo 11 required 400,000 staff and some $25.4bn between 1969 and 1973, which would be closer to $146bn (£116bn) today.

And scientists had a "robust plan" for the landing...

Others thought the comparison was a bit of a stretch

And suitably dragged the PM hopeful

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