We live in an age that will never be forgotten, for a reason that we ourselves tend to forget:
We live in the dawn of human exploration of space.
It is not that long ago that humans ventured for the first time into space. In 1961, a 27-year old man from the Soviet Union named Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit Earth.
In 1969, Neil Armstrong of the United States became the first man to walk on the moon.
The first space station, Salyut 1, was launched in 1971.
Now China is making its own place in history.
After having sent its first man into space in 2003, China has now announced that it will start a new program that will send its first manned mission to the moon by about 2017.
The golden age of space exploration is here. The age has begun slowly, but will pick up speed.
Everything important that already happens on earth can, and probably will, happen in space -- the good, the bad, and the awful. And much, much more. Although there are those who hope that weapons will never be brought into space, that is a vain hope.
As China advances with its space program, other nations must do the same, or risk being left behind.
Whoever controls the space around the earth will eventually control the earth, to the extent that it can be controlled.
There will be major challenges for humankind to overcome as we venture into space. There will be obstacles that seem truly insurmountable -- but they are not. What seems impossible now will become thinkable, then possible, and then accomplished fact.
Do you realize what a golden age we live in?
It is as if the very first ship has set sail on the very first ocean, ready to sail beyond the farthest limits of the known world.
Adventure awaits.
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