When Kennedy said, 'Let's go to the moon,' we didn't yet have a vehicle that wouldn't kill you on launch. He said we'll land a man on the moon in eight years and bring him back. That was an audacious goal to put forth in front of the American people.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the bold vision of setting ambitious goals even when the means to achieve them seem lacking.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson reflects on President John F. Kennedy's audacious declaration to land a man on the moon within eight years, emphasizing that at the time, the technology and safety measures for such a mission were not yet in place. The quote underscores the idea that visionary goals can inspire progress and innovation, motivating people to push beyond their current limitations to achieve extraordinary human accomplishments.
In practice
In a motivational speech to a group of students about reaching for their dreams.
The problem is that many people operate on the assumption that NASA should go to Congress every year with hat in hand and justify it every year. Well, I see it as the greatest economic driver that there ever was. Economic drivers don't need justification.
The press still thinks [global warming] is controversial. So they find the 1% of the scientists and put them up as if they're 50% of the research results. You in the public would have no idea that this is basically a done deal and that we're on to other problems, because the journalists are trying to give it a 50/50 story. It's not a 50/50 story. It's not. Period.
As a scientist, I want to go to Mars and back to asteroids and the Moon because I'm a scientist. But I can tell you, I'm not so naive a scientist to think that the nation might not have geopolitical reasons for going into space.
In just one year, the expenditure of of the U.S.'s military budget is equivalent to the entire 50-year running budget of NASA combined.
One of my great laments is that education today seems to have... be less about passion and more about process, more about tactic or technique.
Lots of people think, well, we're humans; we're the most intelligent and accomplished species; we're in charge. Bacteria may have a different outlook: more bacteria live and work in one linear centimeter of your lower colon than all the humans who have ever lived. That's what's going on in your digestive tract right now. Are we in charge, or are we simply hosts for bacteria? It all depends on your outlook.
I take no pride in hopeless longing; I wouldn't hold a stillborn aspiration. I'd want to have it, to make it, to live it.
The future may be made up of many factors but where it truly lies is in the hearts and minds of men. Your dedication should not be confined for your own gain, but unleashes your passion for our beloved country as well as for the integrity and humanity of mankind.
I tell young people: Do not think of yourself, think of others. Think of the future that awaits you, think about what you can do and do not fear anything.
I used to watch Monte Irvin play when I was a kid. I idolized him. I used to wait in front of the ballpark just for him to pass by so I could see him.
When it is dark enough, men see the stars.
Keep on knocking 'til the joy inside opens a window look to see who's there
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.