Landing on the moon has been called "The greatest technological achievement in the history of mankind". Fueled by competition from the Soviet Union, and the leadership of President John F. Kennedy, the US Space Program took on the monumental task of manned space travel and landing a man on the moon. Already behind in the Space Race, JFK took to the podium at Rice Stadium in 1962 to motivate our great nation to aspire to achieve greater things in the great unknown.

"We choose to go to the Moon! ... We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win." – John F. Kennedy

Fear of cold war lent increased urgency in a heated and difficult battle with the Soviets for space exploration and dominance.

"There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation may never come again." – John F. Kennedy

This urgency provided the energy for the US to enter into a tremendous period of technological advancement, the culmination of which was Neil Armstrong becoming the first man to set foot upon the moon, on July 20th, 1969. A plaque now adorns that very spot, reading "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon, July 1969, A.D. We came in peace for all Mankind."

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.? – Neil Armstrong

The Space Race and subsequent Moon Landing became so much more than a competition between two nations. It was the catalyst for those nations, and the World, to aspire to something larger. To question what more is out there. What we are all truly capable of.

"Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man's desire to understand." – Neil Armstrong

Inspired by the accomplishments of NASA, a new generation of scientists and engineers work to continue the legacy started by the thinkers and dreamers of the 1960s space program. This legacy will soon take mankind to Mars and beyond. If there is a great lesson to be learned from the bravery and achievements of the Space Race era, let it be this.

Our perceived boundaries are merely self-made, yet our dreams are limitless.

"Shoot for the moon; you might get there." – Buzz Aldrin