“‘You were a wonder to us, unattainable, a longing past the reach of longing, a light beyond our light… Now our hands have touched you in your depth of night.’  With these words, on July 20, 1969, the poet Archibald MacLeish expressed the wonderment of billions of eyes cast skyward, beholding together what the greatest triumph of human exploration made at last attainable.  I remember clearly the moment when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took humankind’s first footsteps on another world, with their colleague Michael Collins orbiting above.  That day, we witnessed the culmination of President Kennedy’s call to muster all the might of American science and American courage to press forward beyond a new frontier.  With Armstrong’s small step, though, every border and difference on Earth disappeared, and we were one humankind together. 

“Today, the men and women of NASA, many of whom I am proud to represent at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, look beyond the moon, toward Mars and into the farthest reaches of our galaxy.  Their sights are set on the next frontier, on new worlds and phenomena whose knowledge can benefit our lives here on Earth.  Humankind’s quest for understanding and achievement will surely continue to advance, driven by talented Americans at NASA and others possessing genius and imagination.  But we will never forget where this journey began, with small steps and giant leaps close to home.  Surely we will always be guided through the perilous journeys of discovery to come by the reassuring light of our moon.”