BOSTON (WHDH) - Fifty years after the awe-inspiring moment mankind landed on the moon, the fascination with space exploration lives on.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Caroline Kennedy, and other pioneers in spaceflight celebrated the 50th anniversary of the moon landing with a panel discussion at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library Wednesday.
“We did something as a civilization that everyone had used as a literal symbol of impossibility,” Bezos said. “Oh yeah, that will happen when a man walks on the moon.”
One of the astronauts credited with realizing the so-called impossible dream spoke to the crowd about the moon-shot of the 21st century.
“I used to joke that they sent me to the wrong planet,” Michael Collins said. “And that NASA ought to be renamed the National Aeronautics and Mars Administration and I stick with that today.”
“We have to decide to do it and we have to continue that,” former director of the Johnson Space Center Ellen Ochoa said. “It really takes that constancy of purpose.”
Bezos is one of the people leading the charge to the Red Planet with his company Blue Origin.
The privately funded aerospace manufacturer is building reusable rockets with the intention of making spaceflight cheap and accessible.
“If we are going to continue to make progress and make sure that our descendants have better lives than us, we need to go to space. It is not optional,” he said.
Every person speaking at the event urged the crowd to take up the torch that John F. Kennedy lit half a century ago. Not because it is easy but, because it is hard.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)