Progressive Idea of the Week: Resuming Human Space Flight

Think about it. It took less than ten years from Alan Shepard going up for a short up and down flight into space to Neil Armstrong putting the first human steps on the lunar surface. It was done under budget and with less technological resources than we enjoy today. In fact, the cell phones we carry every day have more computing power than the Lunar Capsules that took astronauts to the Moon. This week is the 48th Anniversary of the first Moon Landing and I was surprised how shallow news coverage commemorating the event was. While N.A.S.A. and the many research institutions have done great work in launching probes and telescopes, it is astounding that we did not have a space delivery system to replace our space shuttle fleet and it has been over 40 years since humanity left its footprints on the Moon. It was a mistake to not follow through on the successes of the Apollo Program. We should accelerate humanities return to space in this country and not just catch rides with the Russians, Europeans, or Chinese.