Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

By Courtney Ann Jackson - Talk Radio News Service

A group of Apollo mission astronauts said that America should work towards landing on Mars at a news conference Monday to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Moon landing.

“The door opened when we touched down on the moon because that is what enabled humans to put many many more footprints on the surface of the moon. Landing on another object is what will enable us to put many other things, determine many other things with humans being there-inspiring many other people,” said Buzz Aldrin of Apollo 11. “America to Mars is what ought to be, not America back to the moon.”

Seven astronauts from the Apollo program participated in the news conference: Walter Cunningham of Apollo 7, James Lovell of Apollo 8 and 13, Buzz Aldrin of Apollo 11, David Scott of Apollo 15, Charles Duke of Apollo 16, Thomas Stafford of Apollo 10, and Eugene Cernan of Apollo 10 and 17.

Neil Armstrong of Apollo 11 was not present at the news conference, but those present mentioned Armstrong and his notoriety as the "first man on the moon."

Lovell said that June 20 is a national celebration, not only because of the Apollo 11 moon landing, but also because of the advances in the space program that made those steps possible.

“We just happen to be the luckiest group of people in the entire history of the modern world to have done something, to live our dreams, to go somewhere where no man has ever gone before and the responsibility is to give that back in some way or another or provide...the opportunities for those that follow in our footsteps to once again see what has never been seen before,” said Cernan.

Cernan added that less than one penny out of every tax dollar goes to support space exploration. “You decide if that’s worth it,” he asked rhetorically.

The astronauts said that people were excited about space exploration during the “space race” age, and that the U.S. needs to find ways to inspire its youth to get excited about it once again.