Salisbury -- Americans have been radiating pride for 25 years since Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, but the warm glow is cooling. If we want our children to know the same pride we feel, we need to start now on a return trip to the moon.
The Apollo astronaut took his ''one small step for man'' on July 20, 1969. For years after his ''one giant leap for mankind,'' America was honored as the world's technology leader.
The Apollo achievements came at the right time to lift us from gloom. We were passing through a time of hot war and cold war, riots and political unrest, assassination and social change. Apollo let us turn away from trials and tribulations for a moment and look up triumphantly. We could see the moon and we could see men walking on the moon. What a boost for our spirits knowing we had send men there, and it couldn't have come at a better time.
Unfortunately, millions of Americans born since we landed on the moon missed the thrill we savored as Apollo 11 touched down in the lunar dust. With economic growth slow and federal budgets tight, our space program is taking it on the chin. NASA has not been able to keep up with inflation.
Yet, without America's space program, we would not have the digital imaging processes widely used by doctors in CAT scans, ultrasound images, cardiac angiography and advanced X-rays. We wouldn't have the lasers used in everything from CD players to the treatment of millions suffering clogged arteries. We wouldn't have the ability to observe Earth from space, thus no weather satellites and no appreciation of ravaged rain forests.
Communication satellites are products of space research. With out them, no CNN, no HBO, no Nickelodeon, and no sinking ships rescued by satellite trackers.
Microminiaturization is a result of the Apollo program. That work led to small computers with enough memory to control a manned space flight. Now we all have them in our homes and cars.
The insulating cushion of Apollo boots is used in today's sneakers. Apollo's Saturn-V rocket contributed turbopumps used in high-speed crew boats and offshore drilling supply ships. Spacesuits led to the cool suits worn by race-car drivers in temperatures up to 130 degrees. People without sweat glands use the same cool suit to stay alive.
