On July 20, 1969, at 8:18, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon, just a few hours later, Neil Armstrong stepped off the landing vehicle and onto the moon. He was the first human and American to touch the moon's surface. What followed was a brief but amazingly productive period of time in which children studied in school harder than ever to become astronauts, companies and individuals alike worked tirelessly to create new tech for NASA and the space program, and man dreamed of the future, a future in the stars.
Things from writing pens to beds all over the world saw amazing improvements and discoveries, while artists and designers began conceptualizing our future world. Arguably not since the renaissance did humanity see such increased learnedness and productivity aside from the glimmers of light that skirted dark moments of war. It seemed that man had once again been motivated to change his surroundings, to contribute to the greater good, not by some government mandate but because he wanted to and make something of himself.
Fast forward to July 8, 2011. The space shuttle Atlantis is to make its final mission of the US Space Shuttle Program, effectively ending manned space missions for a time. Just three months later, the un-manned Curiosity rover lifted off from Cape Canaveral and headed for Mars. Nine months after that, it lands safely and begins the investigation. Martian climate, soil, geology, and habitability are analyzed, as is the potential for future human exploration. Man is back in space again, if only through the looking glass of a camera on board the rover.
Will this be what our country, indeed the world needs to pull itself out of the conflict and economic stain it is in? Will mankind once again aspire to be astronauts and explorers? Will we see an influx of productivity thanks to renewed hopes and dreams that landing on an alien planet has offered us or will we sit idly by and just watch, uninspired and uninformed of what a great man can achieve when he commits himself to learn and science?
I hope, for the sake of our future, not just immediate, but for the future of mankind that this landing renews national interest and that one day we aspire to flight and production again.
Look at Mars through a telescope one day, how would it be to live and colonize there? Keep dreaming and learning!
If you are interested in learning more about Space and NASA, Edward Ehrenspeck with D.A. Hepker has published a great informative book for the readers. "NASA Range Rats" is a thrilling space race book that will help you understand the foundations of the NASA space program. This book includes the history of NASA, interesting facts about NASA and Space, and much more that will captivate the reader's eye. The reader learns about why there was a need for NASA to become established, when it was established and its purpose. The book is available on Amazon.
