Editorial

On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy made a special appeal to the US Congress: "... I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish".

That was achieved eight years later, in July 1969 (on July 20, American time and July 21, European time) when Neil Armstrong became the first human being to walk on the moon. He was soon followed by his colleague Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin as the third member of the Apollo 11 crew, Michael Collins, circled the moon awaiting their return.

"One small step for man. One giant leap for mankind," Mr Armstrong said as soon as his foot touched the Sea of Tranquillity. They were the first words uttered by man as he stood on the lunar surface. Just over three years later, on December 11, 1972, Eugene Cernan, commander of the Apollo 17, the last mission to the moon, sealed the accomplishment of a momentous adventure by all accounts: "America's challenge of today has forged man's destiny of tomorrow". Six missions allowed 12 men to walk on the moon.

The Apollo 11 mission reminded the world of the vast, scientific, technological and medical gains made as a result of space research. Today, 40 years later the world rightly celebrates the astronauts' bravery and heroism and looks ahead to see where their courage can take the world in terms of space exploration.

The Apollo 11 astronauts, now close to 80, on Sunday again set their sights high, calling for the pursuit of new frontiers in space. Characteristically, Mr Aldrin, hurled a specific challenge at his country: to reach Mars by 2035. "America, do you still dream a great dream? Do you still believe in yourself? ... I call on the next generation and our political leaders to give this answer: Yes we can!"

The message was clear to President Barack Obama too who, throughout the Presidential election campaign and, indeed, even after his success, constantly used the slogan Yes We Can.

Truth is, Mr Obama has other pressing matters to see to and there simply is no further money available at this time to invest in space travel. Mars, very likely, will have to wait. Yet, the President is a savvy politician and he will not find it difficult to go along with Mr Aldrin's vision if not with its achievement, at least for this term. The brutal fact of the matter is that for more than three and a half decades, the moon has not featured in Nasa's space programme. The agency does, however, have plans to establish manned lunar bases with a view to explore Mars and the question is not so much if but when.

Opponents will criticise any such attempts and advise that one had better get one's known planet straight before one tries to straighten out another planet. When Mr Kennedy made his speech and when the first lunar landing took place, the US had other priorities too, among them the Cold War. Yet, the challenge was taken up. Indeed, Mr Armstrong said on Sunday the space race at the time provided a mechanism for laying the foundation of cooperation between Russia and the United States.

Once again, space exploration beckons.