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History Repeats Itself: Space Exploration and America’s Future
04/21/10
“Now it is time to take longer strides—time for a great new American enterprise—time for this nation to take a clearly leading role in space achievement, which in many ways may hold the key to our future on earth.”
“The space program has always captured an essential part of what it means to be an American—reaching for new heights, stretching beyond what previously did not seem possible…. Space exploration is not a luxury, it’s not an afterthought in America’s quest for a brighter future—it is an essential part of that quest.”
One of the above statements was made by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, the other by President Barack Obama in 2010. Can you match the speaker with the statement?
Kennedy made the first statement on May 25, 1961, in his famous Message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs. During this speech, Kennedy first presented the national challenge that was fulfilled in 1969: “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth.”
Obama made the second statement on April 15, 2010, during a speech outlining his plans for the future of the American space program. He predicted that his plans for space exploration would result in American astronauts landing on an asteroid and sending a manned expedition to Mars within his lifetime. “I expect to be around to see it,” he declared.
Read JOHN F. KENNEDY’S MESSAGE TO THE CONGRESS ON URGENT NATIONAL NEEDS
Read BARACK OBAMA’S SPEECH ABOUT SPACE EXPLORATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY