Neil Armstrong, the first man to land on the moon, has died; but the human curiosity to explore and determination to achieve, which he personified, will continue to live.
Despite being hampered by some financial restraints at present, humanity’s efforts to explore space, for both commercial and purely scientific reasons, is achieving new successes every day. A rover from the United States is exploring Mars, in a mission that is pushing technological boundaries and reaching new scientific frontiers almost every hour. Russia, China and India, among others, have space programmes, while the International Space Station orbits the earth as testament to the fact that countries can work together for a common purpose. Besides governments, private companies are now also determined to find ways into space.
If the human race is to survive long into the future, it must eventually find new technology, resources and ultimately planets, to support life as we know it. It may be many, many years before space travel is common, but Armstrong will always be remembered as being in front of those that started the journey.
