Moon Landing Anniversary Reminds Us How NASA Has Enriched Our Lives

I was 15 years old when Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon.

I remember watching the live broadcast late at night on my family’s black and white Motorola television set.

I also remember my grandfather, on my mother’s side, who was in his eighties at the time, never believed a man actually went to the moon.  He thought it was fake.

I heard today six percent of Americans (roughly 10 million) side with my late grandfather and believe we never put a man on the moon.

I don’t know that I’ll live to see a Mars mission, but I hope it happens.

Space exploration has always fascinated me.

October 29, 1998 I had the great fortune of going to Cape Canaveral, Florida and covering John Glenn’s historic return to space aboard shuttle Discovery.

Everyone should have the experience of witnessing a shuttle blast-off.  Even miles away, you feel the earth shake, you hear the crackle and roar of the engines, you see the massive trail of smoke as the rocket gradually pulls free of earth’s gravity.

Absolutely amazing.

If NASA ever decides to send up a mission and needs a 55-year-old news anchor, buddy, I’m there.

NASA has given us many moments of great national pride.

The story of Apollo 13, told in a terrific movie starring Tom Hanks, showed America at her best, turning near-tragedy into triumph.  I never get tired of that movie.  I watched it for the umpteenth time just two weekends ago.

There have been disastrous moments where brave astronauts died.  The Apollo 1 launch pad fire in 1967 claimed the lives of three astronauts.  The Challenger shuttle explosion in 1986 killed seven space travelers.  Seven also died aboard shuttle Columbia in 2003.

A trip to Lake City, South Carolina near Florence will show you what Challenger astronaut Ronald McNair meant that town.  He is buried there, plus there is a memorial park, a school named in his honor, and other tributes to this outstanding Carolinian.

We must never forget the bravery our astronauts have shown and the risks they have endured.

It was done in the name of space exploration, American pride and American ingenuity.

We also mustn’t forget the return we get on our NASA research dollars.

According to the website http://www.science.howstuffworks.com,  the list of NASA inventions that have become modern day comforts and conveniences includes:

Water filters
Cordless tools
Safety grooving on concrete
Invisible braces for teeth
Ear thermometers
Smoke detectors
Long-distance telecommunications
Shoe insoles

About 6300 patents have resulted from NASA research.

Should we go to Mars?  This American says yes.

It will take massive research and invention, but our lives and our history will be the richer for it.

And maybe in the process, we will indeed cure the common cold and find other ways to make life on Earth much better.