39 years ago yesterday

I remembered this yesterday, but forgot to blog about it until this morning. Every July 16, as an almost life-long NASA junkie, I always think about Apollo 11 (above, shortly after launch at Kennedy Space Center), and how I wish I were alive when it happened. (Hearing Al Gore talk about it during his speech today [below] reminded me to blog about it.)

What an awesome achievement by humanity - I hope I live a life long enough to see us go back, and to see us travel further out into the solar system - to Mars and beyond. I cannot wait - I just wish NASA had a little more fire (and funding) under its collective rear end to get to Mars quicker than the 2020s, but it's better than having no plans on the board.

I will always give President Bush credit for being the president who finally gave America the political will to go back to the Moon and beyond, but he sure hasn't proposed much funding for the endeavor. Here's hoping his successor gives NASA the resources it needs to get back to the Moon and Mars, and soon.