Neil deGrasse Tyson on Neil Armstrong, Space Exploration

Neil deGrasse Tyson on Neil Armstrong, Space Exploration

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In the wake of the passing of pioneering astronaut Neil Armstrong, Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist and director of the Hayden Planetarium, tweeted that men walking on the moon was “The only positive event in the last 50 yrs for which everyone remembers where they were when it happened.” So after Armstrong, what’s next for space exploration? The Wall Street Journal asked Tyson to reflect on the passing of Armstrong – and the possibility of man building on his accomplishments and going to Mars. Here’s what he said, via email:

“The country needs to understand the value and role of space exploration on the urges of a nation to innovate. This cultural shift imagines a tomorrow that only creativity in science and engineering can deliver. It’s this ‘innovation nation’ that will assure a stable economic future in the 21st century. Meanwhile, for a truly space-faring nation, destination does not matter as much as the capacity to access any parts of space that science, business, national security or geopolitics mandates.”