It’s a daring quest, with Barack Obama calling on the nation to achieve what has long been a dream — to boldly go (to split that famous infinitive) to Mars. It’s reminiscent of JFK’s moonshot, which galvanized the country in its aim for space, spurred on by a Russian challenge — and which put our astronauts on the moon. Now the US hopes to change the meaning and size of the “giant step for mankind” the moon journey delivered, vowing to send astronauts to Mars and back by the 2030s.
The first space race demonstrated “an essential part of our character — curiosity and exploration, innovation and ingenuity, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible and doing it before anybody else,” Obama writes. He says the government has “revitalized NASA” and he calls for “reimagining and revinvigorating our space program to explore more of our solar system.” It’ll be executed through myriad public and private sector partnerships. This is all described in an eloquent, dream-driven essay published by CNN. The editor’s note at the top helpfully reveals more about the author.
