The Moon Or The South Pole. Which Was Mans Greatest Endeavour?

When the question is asked "Which was the greatest achievement by the human race" i think most people would say it was man landing on the moon. However i began to look into both the moon landings and the first expeditions to Antarctica. Though we cannot take away what NASA achieved, i feel that the Polar Expeditions where in fact mans greatest achievement.
Let's look as a few facts:-

Astronauts had a "Ride" to the moon and for most of the time just sat back untill they got there.
Explorers like Robert Falcon Scott and Roald Amundsen had to walk most of the way. In Scott's case that involved man hauling sledges for nearly 200 miles in temperatures as low as -40C.
The Astronauts where always in communication with mission control
The Polar Explorers had no such luxury as communications.
The voyage to the moon for the astronauts was but a couple of days.
The voyage form northern Europe to Antarctica took weeks.
The Astronauts only spent a few days on the moon's surface.
The Polar explorers had to spend many months in harsh conditions.

Just a few facts why i believe the Polar Expeditions where man's greatest ever achievement.

Agreed,..

The conditions those guys endured for months or even years, much of it in the pitch black of the polar winter were terrible...

Still think Shackelton was the greatest of them though. His 1914-17 adventure has to be one of the greatest feats of survival ever.

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Well it really depends on what you mean by "greatest."

Most difficult for the explorers? Most difficult for society at that time/at that tech level to actually achieve? Most impactful to society? Just those differences in perspective would lead me to different conclusions.

Originally posted by cahlmac
Agreed,..

The conditions those guys endured for months or even years, much of it in the pitch black of the polar winter were terrible...

Still think Shackelton was the greatest of them though. His 1914-17 adventure has to be one of the greatest feats of survival ever.

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Good shout. Sir Ernest Shackelton was one of the great Polar Explorers.
Also remember what cold weather protection these guys had. Very primitive by todays standards.

No comparison - adventurers went to the poles - NOBODY WENT TO THE MOON..........

I think both are astounding, each for it's time. Both show a kind of innocent faith to set forth into an unknown with no idea what you might face, yet doing it anyway. Man shows again and again a willingness to jump into the unknown with courage and a kind of inexplicable joy. It is one of our finer qualities.