Forty-two years ago today, the U.S. space program reached a historic zenith when Neil Armstrong put the first human footprints on the moon. It marked an achievement of engineering, exploration and personal courage that remains amazing today.
It was also was the realization of a national dream
. President John F. Kennedy set the goal in 1961 of a round-trip voyage to the moon by the end of the decade, and the cold war fueled a space race with the Soviet Union that America was determined to win.
The focus of the nation’s imagination on that goal was key to its success. Support for NASA and the space program was broad and enthusiastic. Going to the moon was excitingly tangible, a romantic notion that made real what had only been possible in science fiction.
Today, with the space shuttle program coming to an end after 135 missions over three decades, America’s future in space in uncertain. Consensus on the next great goal is elusive, with national ambivalence over the shuttle program’s record directing caution.
The shuttle boasted marvelous successes — the International Space Station, the launch of scores of satellites and probes, valuable technologies that likely wouldn’t have been developed any other way. The invention of a reusable space vehicle broke important new ground.
But at an estimated $200 billion, it cost significantly more than anticipated. Missions were far less frequent than originally planned. And 14 astronauts lost their lives in two accidents.
“What’s next” is a difficult question. The latest plan, put forth by President Obama, is to work toward sending astronauts to an asteroid by 2025 and to Mars the following decade. But that’s far from a sure thing.
“I think we as a species need to be thinking about living off this planet, long-term,” NASA launch director Mike Leinbach said before Atlantis lifted off July 8 on the final shuttle flight. “That ought to be the mission.”
Such thinking certainly fuels the imagination, which in turn propels support for further funding. But as government spending undergoes much-needed scrutiny, it’s a question unlikely to be settled soon.
Progress in space won’t stop in the meantime. Exciting new commercial enterprises will move forward, with plans to “taxi” astronauts to the space station. Until then, Russians will take U.S. and other astronauts back and forth, a cooperative venture that was unimaginable during the early years of the space race.
Government-funded space travel has produced amazing results over the past 50 years, but today’s budget crisis presents a new reality — especially without a big goal to pursue.
Working with the innovation and capital of private partners, though, along with other nations, NASA can keep pushing the boundaries of human achievement, blazing a trail toward the next giant leap for mankind.
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