COMMENTARY | On December 30, 2011 China announced preliminary plans to land their people on the moon. With this announcement what they truly did was pick up the spiritual mission started by President John Kennedy in the 1960s. Sadly, Mr. Kennedy died before being able to witness the brave Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong plant the American Flag on the lunar surface. The images of these men on the large gray rock are evidence of the greatest achievement of American science and testament to human potential.
As a boy it was these images, coupled with Captain Jean-Luc Picard, which made me fascinated with all things space. As you could imagine my room had replica Apollo shuttles, astronaut figures and even those glow in the dark star stickers. With that and my love of history my imagination has always been someplace between Luke Skywalker and Indiana Jones. Whenever there was a televised launch I made sure to watch and, in 2003, when Columbia went down I cried for them.
With the signing of the NASA Authorization Act of 2010, President Barack Obama officially closed doors on NASA’s newest project, the Constellation. The project, originally sponsored by former President George W. Bush, was designed to usher in a new age of space flight and continue America’s dominance in space travel. So when I read about the cancellation my heart sank in ways I never knew it could; as a space fan it felt like a personal blow. When space shuttle Atlantis was touched ground in July of 2011 it marked the end of the Shuttle era of the program and left America’s role in the future dimmer.
Since the announcement of China’s intentions there has been some question regarding whether America should support them in their quest. As an American, not only do I support China’s mission but I feel it would be in America’s best interest to help them in any way we can. The space program has helped bridge an alliance between us and our former enemy Russia and I feel it could do the same for China. The marvelous thing about science is how it’s really a collaborated effort built upon the ideas of generations of great thinkers from a multitude of countries and cultures. English may be the most spoken, but math is the most universal. By working with the Chinese in their mission wouldn’t NASA be fulfilling its own?
When the Chinese achieve this noble task, there will be a 30-something child watching in awe just as his parents had nearly 50 years ago.