President John F. Kennedy’s September 12, 1962 Moon Address at Rice University came on the car radio recently and, despite temperatures below freezing in D.C., the speech sent warm shivers down my spine while driving through the winter night; reminding me that the United States will soon complete the first crewed mission around the moon since 1972, with an eventual landing very possible before the end of the second Trump Administration.
Kennedy said many memorable things in his speech, including:
"Many years ago, the great British explorer George Mallory, who was to die on Mount Everest, was asked why did he want to climb it? He said, 'Because it is there.'
We choose to go to the Moon. We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.
We have given this program a high national priority — even though I realize that this is in some measure an act of faith and vision, for we do not now know what benefits await us.
Space is there, and we’re going to climb it, and the Moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there. And, therefore, as we set sail, we ask God’s blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which man has ever embarked."
JFK helped us see the stars and that it was in our interest. The few people who were against it or arguing that the money should be spent in aid to American cities were often leftists, such as Mayor John Lindsay of New York City. But for the most part, back then, space gave our nation unity and purpose, goals and dreams, awe and wonder. It still does.
Early in his first administration, President Trump boldly declared that the United States would return to the moon. The Space Policy Directives he initiated have led the way in making this possible, along with the dedication of the men and women of NASA.
There are even more compelling geopolitical, military, economic and health reasons to return to the moon since our last mission in 1972. Space is much more of a competition in this day and age, both in the nations involved and in scope. Russia and China are aiming not only go to the Moon but also to establish bases there and conquer further reaches of outer space. This development makes the current effort by President Trump all the more imperative, in addition to the other benefits scientifically which are brought by the exploration of space. In the infancy of space travel, diseases and medical issues here on earth have been attacked, and in many cases arrested, through the Space Program.
There are new frontiers to conquer in the decades ahead, as it was in 1962.
President Kennedy spoke to us then. He speaks to us still. President Trump is also speaking words into existence regarding us returning to the Moon in his first administration. In this 40th year since the Challenger exploded and where we will also see the Voyager 1 spacecraft reach one light day for the Earth, we will also have a crewed mission around the moon. And a new moon landing may happen before the end of the second Trump Administration in January 2029…because it is there.
*Views expressed in this article are those of the author and not those of any government agency.