40th Anniversary of the Moon Landing!

40 years ago we became a space faring race.

The moon landing took us that one giant leap into our future as space travelers.

We became a race of people who were able to actually leave the planet where they had been born!

What a mind boggling concept!

We also got a new perspective by being able to see ourselves from space. In some ways, that may be the most telling result for us from an emotional standpoint.

You can read more about the moon landing here, and also the efforts that lead up to it here.

I feel like I'm being a downer, but as a race, what has happened to us? We had our heads in the clouds, and were doing unimaginably wonderful things in making progress as a race of intelligent beings who were growing up. I expected great things from humans.

But 40 years later, here we are, having taken that one glorious step forward, now sitting and squabbling over how little everyone has. We seem to have completely forgotten about the glory and progress that is our birthright, if only we would embrace it.

When I started to write this, I planned an entirely different message. A message about how exhilarated it made me feel. The pride of accomplishment I felt as a part of a race of beings who had pulled ourselves up out of the mud, and gone traveling! This was the first step into a glorious future.

But then it never happened.

Sure, we're putting up satellites to provide some creature comforts, and NASA keeps trying to make some progress, but we seem to be so wrapped up in our own comfort and selfish needs that we've lost the spirit of adventure, and we're well on our way to wrecking the environment on our own planet, both ecological and in other material ways.

The biggest loss is in the spirit of exploration and adventure.

And that's where the wealth of the future lies.

I only hope that we grow up enough to realize that before it's too late!

Outer space exploration has made so many of our everyday conveniences possible. Read a description of a book called Inventions from Outer Space. An excerpt of the description reads:

I was amazed at the breadth of the technological applications of some of the inventions. They ranged from athletic footwear to water filters to sewage purification using hyacinths; from special swimsuits that resist drag to keyboards for the handicapped to a g-force protection bed; from dichroic glass used in jewelry to ergonomic seats; from urban planning to body scanning diagnostics. X-ray technology developed for the lunar probes and mars landers are now used in the hospitals for diagnostic imaging, and ocular scanners are a direct by-product of lunar imaging systems. Infrared satellites are also being used remotely for archaeological purposes on Earth. There was also mention of the development of a self-healing computer...

If we fail to continue our outward exploration, we'll be failing the whole human race.

We need to get inspired all over again!

******************************

Don't forget! Children of Earth will start tonight on BBC in America.