Mission to Mars (25 page)

Homesteading our solar system is a reach outward to what lies beyond—and beyond to the stars.

I was deeply saddened by the passing of my good friend, and space exploration companion, Neil Armstrong, in 2012. As Neil, Mike Collins, and I trained together for our momentous Apollo 11 expedition, we knew of the technical challenges we faced as well as of the magnitude and weighty implications of that historic journey. We will now always be connected as the crew of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon in 1969. Yet for the many millions who witnessed that remarkable achievement for humankind, we were not alone. An estimated 600 million people back on Earth, at that time the largest television audience in history, watched Neil and me walk on the moon.

Whenever I gaze at the moon, I feel like I’m in a time machine. I am back to that precious pinpoint of time, nearly 45 years ago, when Neil and I stood on the forbidding, yet beautiful, Sea of Tranquillity. We both looked upward at our shining, blue planet Earth, poised in the darkness of space. I now know that even though we were farther away from Earth than two humans had ever been, we were simply the spearhead of a community of participants. Virtually the entire world took that unforgettable journey with us.

The Apollo 11 crew—Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, and Michael Collins—celebrate the mission’s 40th anniversary in July 2009
.

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Illustration Credit 8.1
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With Neil’s death, I was joined by many millions of others from around the world in a global mourning for the passing of a true American hero and the best pilot I ever knew. It had never come to my mind that our Apollo 11 mission commander might be the first of us to pass.

My friend Neil took the small step but giant leap that changed the world, and he will forever be remembered as the person who represented a seminal moment in human history.

I had truly hoped that on July 20, 2019, Neil, Mike, and I would be commemorating the 50th anniversary of our moon landing. Regrettably, this is not to be. Neil will most certainly be there with us in spirit. Surely, if we had all been together, we would have collectively supported the continued expansion of humanity into space. Our small mission that was Apollo 11 helps make that possible. But like our fellow citizens and people from around world, we all will miss this foremost aviation and space pioneer.

Neil did not see Apollo 11 as an ending. Rather, he saw our touchdown at Tranquillity Base as a first small step for humankind into the cosmos. He was truly a gifted engineer, consummate astronaut, and leader. Yes, he was soft-spoken and reserved, advocating quietly for space exploration from behind the scenes. He didn’t seek fame or honor for the work that he knew so many others had done to make our moon landing achievable.

May Neil’s vision for our human destiny in space be his legacy. As he once observed, there are still “places to go beyond belief.”

We both expressed that sentiment during periodic visits to the White House, where we discussed U.S. space policy with a succession of Presidents. Conversation in some cases turned to where the next step into the future should lie: Return to the moon or on to Mars? For me, Mars. Neil disagreed. He thought that the moon had more to teach us before we pressed onward to other challenges. Still, while we disagreed at times on that next destination and how best to get there, we were
both resolute and shared a common belief: America must lead in space.

Neil’s passing was also a time to reflect on those who gave their lives in pursuit of making real the dream of space exploration: the astronauts of Apollo 1 and of the space shuttle orbiters
Challenger
and
Columbia
. We can honor them all—and the U.S. President who set in motion the moon-landing challenge before the country—by renewing our commitment and resolve to space exploration, and pursue it with the same fortitude and durable commitment to excellence that was personified by Neil Armstrong.

My call is to the next generation of space explorers and their leaders. It is now time to continue that journey, outward past the moon.

The three of us on Apollo 11 traversed the blackness and vacuum of space to win a peaceful race with a very capable competitor, the former Soviet Union. Apollo 11 was, at its core, about leadership. A young American President challenged himself—and all of us—to think daringly and not withdraw from a shared vision of what we could do in space. The path that John F. Kennedy motivated us to choose was, indeed, not easy. In truth, it was very hard and audacious in scope. But it served the betterment of America, and ultimately contributed to ending the Cold War.

It was an honor and privilege to be a part of the Apollo 11 mission and share in that pinnacle moment within the U.S. space program. There are those who look back at that time and ask, What did it mean that America was first on the moon? The right question to ask, however, is, What can America do now to build upon that accomplishment decades ago?

Inspiring the next generation with a visit to Buzz Aldrin Elementary School in Schaumburg, Illinois, September 2012

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Illustration Credit 8.2
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Apollo 11 was rooted in exploration, about taking risks for great rewards in science and engineering, about setting an ambitious goal before the world—and then finding the political will and national means to achieve it. Even today the voyages of Apollo seem incredibly bold. Looking back at that time, we are continually stirred by the enormity of the endeavor, one that was energized by the teaming efforts of people from all walks of life, from industries big and small, who worked in tandem to attain a long-term goal of magnificent achievement.

The crew of Apollo 11 was backed by hundreds of thousands of American workers, the greatest can-do team ever assembled on the face of Earth. That team was composed of scientists and engineers, metallurgists and meteorologists, policymakers and flight directors, navigators and suit testers, and those on the shop floor, such as the seamstresses who stitched the 21 layers of fabric for each custom-tailored space suit. They devoted their lives and professional energies, minds and hearts, to our mission and to the other Apollo expeditions. Those Americans embraced commitment and quality to surmount the unknowns with us.

All of these lessons are worth learning anew today. Yes, we live in difficult times. We face these challenges together.

I believe that valiant strides forward in space not only reflect our country’s greatness, but summon us to make discoveries that, in turn, improve our lives on Earth. I also sense that national leadership and a coming together of the American people are the ingredients that make overcoming obstacles possible. Apollo 11 is a symbol of what a great nation—and a great people—can do if we work hard, work together, motivated by strong leaders with vision and resolve.

What Apollo 11 means to us today is realizing the dream of exploration by way of determination—and it is a message we need to carry forward into our future.

My vision for our space future is founded on the Apollo tradition. But this time, there is no moon race. Rather, I see the moon as a true stepping-stone to more stimulating and habitable destinations. The moon should act as a new global commons for all nations as we venture outward to Mars for America’s future! It is not outside our reach.

That future is already being cultivated as U.S. space entrepreneurs are opening up the space ways to tourism for hundreds of ordinary individuals. This future I envision builds upon the International Space Station, which should become an orbiting research center for all nations—including India, China, and other countries that aim to explore space.

It is a future in which we travel to Earth’s orbit aboard new reusable spacecraft, successors to the now retired space shuttle fleet. These are multipurpose international and commercial ships capable of runway landings and supporting an assortment of space duties.

The space station is the ideal test bed for long-duration life support. We must use our station know-how to prototype specialized safe-haven, interplanetary, and taxi modules, hardware that can be combined with Orion-type crew vehicles for missions that cycle back and forth between Earth and the moon. These cyclers are eventually stationed at lunar vicinity, those special places beyond low Earth orbit that I’ve written about earlier, the Earth-moon L1 and Earth-moon L2 slots. Once in position, they relay communications and double as refueling depots. Making use of cyclers, we also fly by comets and intercept asteroids, particularly the menacing to Earth space rock Apophis.

This is merely a snapshot of what is practicable.

Who knows what the future may bring, what’s right around the technological corner or what new revelation in physics is yet to be found? Propulsion via gravity waves, space elevators on the moon, satellite power beaming from point to point in space, our first contact with extraterrestrial intelligence? All of this is part of our 21st-century pursuit of new knowledge and the ongoing process of discovery.

By implementing a step-by-step vision—just as we did with the single-seater Mercury capsule and two-person Gemini spacecraft that made Apollo possible—we will plunge deeper and deeper outward. On the agenda of solid stepping-stones in space exploration: multination and commercial use of our neighboring moon, several human landings on Phobos, the inner moon of Mars. Those exploits are prelude to our historical and milestone-making commitment to homestead the red planet itself.

If collectively we have the vision, determination, support, and political will—and Apollo clearly showed us that these elements can be tied together—then these gallant missions of exploration are within our grasp.

I have a message in a time bottle for the candidate who wins the 2016 election for the U.S. presidency.

There’s opportunity to make a bold statement on the occasion of the July 2019 50th anniversary of the first humans to land on the moon: “
I believe this nation should commit itself, within two decades, to commencing American permanence on the planet Mars.
”

Making that declaration will be predicated on answering a set of questions:

America, do you still dream great dreams?

Do you still believe in yourself?

Are you ready for a great national challenge?

I call upon our next generation of space explorers—and our political leaders—to give an affirmative answer: Yes!

Looking beyond the moon to the asteroids and Mars

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Illustration Credit 8.3
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