space

“ Choose your heroes wisely, and be careful who you idolize. Why? Simple: you will become like the people with whom you most often associate. ”

“ To me, that is one of the most important principles of life: Never leave your friends behind. ”

“ Knowledge of the past and an optimistic view of the present give you great opportunities. ”

“ Exploration is wired into our brains. If we can see the horizon, we want to know what's beyond. ”

“ As someone who flew two space capsules and twice landed in the ocean, I can attest from personal experience how much logistics work is needed to get you home. ”

“ Keep in mind that progress is not always linear. It takes constant course correcting and often a lot of zigzagging. Unfortunate things happen, accidents occur, and setbacks are usually painful, but that does not mean we quit. ”

“ To send humans back to the moon would not be advancing. It would be more than 50 years after the first moon landing when we got there, and we'd probably be welcomed by the Chinese. But we should return to the moon without astronauts and build, with robots, an international lunar base, so that we know how to build a base on Mars robotically. ”

“ Mars has been flown by, orbited, smacked into, radar examined, and rocketed onto... ”

“ The pilgrims on the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock. To my knowledge, they didn't wait around for a return trip to Europe. You settle some place with a purpose. If you don't want to do that, stay home. You avoid an awful lot of risks by not venturing outward. ”

“ The urge to explore has propelled evolution since the first water creatures reconnoitered the land. Like all living systems, cultures cannot remain static; they evolve or decline. They explore or expire. ”