From what Google tells me today is the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. I love that Google did a doodle for that historic event. Space exploration is one of my favorite science/sci-fi subjects. It utilizes two key human instincts—creativity and exploration. Humans have always been curious, working to keep pushing onward into unknown frontiers. We are designed to love learning and to find joy in trying new things. These human traits are discussed in a great podcast I’ve been listening to called Anatomy of Next: New World (you should absolutely check it out), which is all about how we could turn Mars into a livable planet and colonize it. The podcast explores all kinds of issues that would arise–both the physical and ethical obstacles–and offers all sorts of interesting, creative solutions. It presents going to Mars as the next big step in human exploration.

Now, don’t tell me dreams don’t come true, because NASA recently announced (in a YouTube video with the voice from William Shatner–they’re all geeks over there and I love them for it) that we would be going back to the moon, and not only are we going back, but we’re going to build a space station on the surface from which we will be launching missions to Mars. Wow.

When I heard this announcement, it literally brought tears to my eyes. We haven’t sent a person to the moon in decades. Don’t get me wrong, I understand why. We’ve been sending probes, both to the moon and beyond. I know we’ve been making all kinds of progress in all kinds of ways. But going back to the moon with the ultimate goal of taking the next step, of taking that next leap and visiting our neighbor, feels like we’re finally stretching our wings again. I can’t wait to see where our exploration takes us and all the incredible new things we’ll learn.

What does the moon landing mean to you? What do you hope we’ll find on Mars?