When it comes to scientific marvels, few match the U.S. effort to put men on the moon.
The mission involved significant government investment in public education, scientific research and private-public partnerships.
Given todays divisive politics, short attention spans, and demands for immediate gratification and profit, its doubtful a similar effort now would get off the ground, much less endure through multiple presidents.
While President John Kennedy gets credit for setting the goal of putting a man on the moon, the U.S. space program actually started years earlier.
Following World War II, the United States and Russia were competing for military, economic and geographic advantages around the globe both on the ground and in the air.
In July 1955, President Dwight Eisenhowers administration announced plans to build and launch a satellite. Although the effort was described as primarily scientific, Americans in and out of government understood the military significance of staying ahead of Russia.
It turned out, however, that the Soviet Union was faster than we had anticipated. It launched its Sputnik satellite in October 1957, beating the United States into space.
Americans followed with their own satellite in January of 1958. Even more important, the United States launched a broad scientific effort aimed far beyond getting a satellite out of the atmosphere.
Rather than focusing solely on building more military equipment, Eisenhower developed the National Defense Education Act, which he signed into law in September of 1958.
According to a piece in Politico, the law included scholarships and loans to college students who were interested in pursuing studies in math, science, engineering and foreign languages. The act also provided states with funds to bolster public school programs in those disciplines.
Eisenhowers plan also reflected the need for teachers to keep the effort going in future generations.
When Kennedy succeeded Eisenhower in the White House in 1961, he expanded the manned space program and announced his goal of putting Americans on the moon before the end of the decade.
That goal was reached, and this month marks the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11s successful trek to the moon and back.
In the decades since 1969, much of the enthusiasm for space exploration has waned.
The Planetary Society, a nonprofit group representing people interested in space research and exploration, pointed out earlier this year that NASAs $21.5 billion budget was the best funding news for the agency in a decade. The Society said the budget represented a funding increase of 3.5 percent, which was 8 percent more than the White House had proposed.
