Celebrating First Moon Walk With More Progress

Forty-five years ago yesterday, the world watched as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first people to walk on the moon, instantly becoming national heroes. This historic landing of Apollo 11 sealed America’s global reputation as “number one” in space innovation and technology. Our country and NASA continue to lead the pack with breakthrough after breakthrough, from creating the first spacecraft to travel through the asteroid belt in 1972, to developing the first International Space Station in 1998, and the successful landing of two space rovers on Mars in 2004.

While I am proud of the amazing technology produced by NASA since its creation in 1958, I am worried that our position in the global space race could slip amid our country’s budget challenges. As we work to find ways to reduce government spending and our deficit, we must invest in areas that can grow our economy and create jobs. We must provide NASA with robust funding and our private sector partners with support, so that they can continue reaching for new heights

These days, many kids would rather be an NFL quarterback than Neil Armstrong. I hope that we can reignite our country’s enthusiasm for space exploration so that innovation will continue for decades to come.