Space Remains Our One Frontier To Be Conquered

Twenty-five years ago, we reached the beginning of our exploration of space.

Or at least we thought it was the beginning. But 25 years ago, Gene Cernan and Jack Schmitt became the last Americans - and, thus, the last humans - to walk on the moon.

The Apollo 17 moon shot was a shining example of the bold, risk-taking that has been the hallmark of America since our earliest days. Some say our enthusiasm for the adventure of exploration has diminished significantly because of the threat posed by today’s proliferation of lawsuits. But I say it is surely time for us to reclaim our heritage.

Along with crewmate Ronald Evans, the Apollo 17 crew lifted off from Cape Canaveral on Dec. 7, 1972, for a 12-day journey to the moon and back. Cernan and Schmitt landed in a valley on the edge of the Sea of Serenity a few days later and made three trips across the landscape in a rover that looked like a Jeep, collecting rock samples and conducting scientific experiments.

While my lunar mission gained a bit of notoriety for having a few problems on our way to the moon, Cernan and his crew gained notice for having the most trouble-free flight.

The extremely successful mission capped the Apollo program, which in just a few short years had turned the moon from a mythical sphere to a potential tourist destination. We learned the names of peaks and valleys, and marveled at the view of home. Our travels made the moon seem bigger and more real, and made the Earth seem smaller - yet somehow, too, more real.

In a decade of national and global problems - racial integration, a Cold War with the Soviet Union and a real war in Vietnam - the moon missions served as a national elixir. But they did more than raise the spirits of a nation. They took us farther than we had ever been and proved what we could accomplish. They pushed forward education and science, and brought back to Earth advancements in fields like communications and medicine.

People around the world stopped to watch Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin take those first steps on the moon in 1969. But then the American public’s interest waned. The same scenes that transfixed the world in 1969 were seen as tedious by 1972, and NASA had already canceled the three remaining lunar missions.

Because we became so focused on landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth, many people lost sight of how much more there is to learn and explore in the universe. The moon was supposed to be a steppingstone for future exploration.

That hasn’t happened.

That’s not to say we have abandoned space. We have sent probes like the Mars Explorer. We have a space shuttle program to continue experimenting in space to improve life on Earth - an ability that will be greatly enhanced with the International Space Station. We have an outstanding space telescope in place and in January will send a probe to the moon to, among other things, search for polar ice deposits that could make future manned trips easier.

Still, what should have been the beginning of human exploration of space seems to have stalled. I hope this is a temporary condition. We shouldn’t let reaching the moon become our greatest accomplishment in space. There is too much left to discover and too many benefits for Earth left untapped.

Exploring space costs money. We spent $25 billion on the Apollo program. I would argue we got - and are still getting - our money’s worth from that program. Another concern people raise is the risk space travel places on humans. There are indeed great risks, as I am personally well aware. The benefits so outweigh the risks, however, that we must continue. I don’t think we’ll ever have trouble filling an astronaut corps. Heck, I would go back myself if I had the opportunity.

Space is about the future, not the past. I recently attended an astronaut reunion in Florida where we remembered the accomplishments of our past. The most exciting discussions, however, were about the world’s next great steps in space - a permanent base on the moon and landing humans on Mars.

Gene Cernan said Apollo 17 was only the end of the beginning. Let’s hope he was right.

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