Mars is calling: NASA chief delivers inspiring message on JFK's Moon speech anniversary

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson delivered an inspiring message marking the 60th anniversary of former US President John F. Kennedy’s (JFK) speech at Rice University. It was on September 12, 1962, when JFK delivered his “We choose to go to Moon” address before a crowd of 35,000 people at Rice University stadium a year after NASA’s Apollo Program began.

“We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard,” JFK had said. Remembering these words, Nelson accredited him of providing “winds to the sails” of space exploration which took humanity to the Moon. The former President’s speech holds immense significance as it set the target for the US to land an astronaut in the same decade and at a time when the cold war with the now-defunct USSR was at its peak. 

During the cold war, which spanned almost five decades until 1990, both US and USSR were competing on multiple fronts including the space sector, which resulted in the launch of the first satellite (Sputnik) and the first human to space (Yuri Gagarin) in 1957 and 1961, respectively. 

'Mars is calling': Bill Nelson

"Mars is calling, why? Because it is in our DNA to explore," said Nelson while commemorating JFK's historic statements. He said that the red planet might have had conditions similar to the Earth, a reason for scientists' interest in Earth's neighbour. "Where did the water go. Why did the atmosphere change? Humans can discover much more than the robotic explorers," he said.

Besides, he also addressed the 'Artemis generation' and the recent launch scrubs which postponed the launch of Artemis 1 earlier this month. "Obviously we had all hoped that Artemis 1 would already be on the way to the Moon. But the NASA team is working around the clock and I have full faith in this team and the mission,'' he added. "We will launch when we are ready. But mark my words, we are going. And when the final 'go' is given, Artemis 1 will roar to life and soar to the Moon," the NASA chief stated and underscored that NASA's next attempt to take humanity back to the Moon will eventually expand our reach to Mars and beyond. 

The Artemis Program is being developed by NASA as a successor of the Apollo Program, but with an even ambitious goal of not just leaving footprints but establishing full-fledged sustainable bases on the lunar surface. The new program will kickstart with Artemis 1, which would launch without astronauts to test the brand new Space Launch System (SLS rocket) and the Orion spacecraft. As of September 12, Artemis 1 has been postponed twice due to technical issues and is now being targeted for launch later this month.

Image: AP, NASA