Astronaut's letter about landing on the moon in 1969 is still inspiring the world

The whole world was awestruck when Apollo 11 made a remarkable landing on the surface of the moon on July 21st, 1969. Two astronauts, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin daringly set foot on the moon and became inspirations to many children around the world. The astronauts gave many interviews and speeches sharing their feelings on their incredible experience on the moon. However, in 2017, Letters of Note, an online museum that is abode to noteworthy letters from the past got hold of Buzz Aldrin's letter to a professor in which he opened up about his emotions while landing on the moon. This powerful letter is nothing but a ray of hope to mankind.

On September 25, 1997, Aldrin wrote this letter to Barry Goldman, a professor at the University of Maryland. The astronaut intended to "share some of his personal ideas and thoughts about his experiences related to the moon landing." He wrote, "I have often described the moon as a 'magnificent desolation.' Its rocky horizon curved against the deep black of space, making it perfectly obvious that we were standing on a ball spinning through the universe." The first thought that struck Aldrin's mind as he planted the American flag on the moon's surface was, "A billion people were watching me on television. Human beings had never been farther away than we were nor had more people thinking about them!"

"I think the spirit and the sense of involvement exhibited by the numbers of people who remember where they were when that event happened make it even more apparent to me over the years that the moonwalk added value to the lives of all the people who participated in it," wrote Aldrin. The astronaut was glad that a lot of people around the world felt great about how the United States achieved what seemed to be an impossible feat for mankind. He added, "I have snapshots of myself on the moon that will always remind me of that strange and fascinating place. Someday in the future, as people are mulling over their vacation plans, I hope they’ll choose to fly into space."

"It’s the trip of a lifetime," wrote Aldrin about his journey to the moon and back. The professor to whom Aldrin wrote this letter seemed to have previously asked the astronaut about the future of space exploration. Aldrin replied, "Regarding your questions about space exploration in 50 years: all of the rationales reduce to one simple truth: we will walk on Mars in the spirit and wonder that sets our species apart." The astronaut was so hopeful about humanity's leap toward bigger objectives and had an optimistic notion about the world of science making great advancements that would help us explore the universe.

By signing off his letter saying, "Ad Astra via Mars," he emphasized that our next endeavor in reaching the stars would be through Mars. True to his words, NASA has been working on avant-garde technologies and preparing itself to send astronauts to Mars as early as the 2030s. The organization is currently experimenting with oxygen support, food systems, water support, power systems, spacesuits, communication and shelter that would be compatible exclusively on Mars.