Apollo Patriots Fight for America's Future

May 28, 2010 (LPAC) — The first and the last men to walk on the moon, Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan, speaking before the House Science Committee hearing on the NASA human spaceflight plan, continued their assault on the insanity of the President's "mission to nowhere" (Cernan's words), while forcefully defending and articulating the reasons for human spaceflight, beginning with a return to the Moon.

The hearing began with testimony from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, followed by a panel featuring Armstrong, Cernan, and A. Thomas Young, a retired top aerospace executive. Bolden defended every aspect of the Obama plan to kill the Constellation program and privatize America's access to orbit, which the Committee, for the most part, publicly opposes.

In contrast, many members were visibly moved by the forthright, truthful, and impassioned testimony of the astronauts. One of the ranking members said that it was the best testimony he had heard in his 30 years on that committee; another said it was the first time he had heard a clear argument for returning to the moon. The transcript (and possibly video) of the testimony and the questions and answers that followed can be found on the Committee's website.

Armstrong said the arguments for not returning the moon — because we've "been there already" — make as much sense as the argument that we shouldn't have expanded beyond the Mississippi because Lewis and Clark had "been there already."

Cernan alluded to and reiterated points made in the joint letter from himself, Armstrong, and Apollo 13 Commander Jim Lovell on the travesty of the Obama proposal. He said more important than specific dates, is a clear commitment to exploration on behalf of future generations, beginning by following through on Constellation. Armstrong's discussion of "America's leadership in space" also transcended the typical "competition against Russia and China" mindset, emphasizing that what the U.S. does affects what other nations consider to be even possible.

After the hearing two LPAC organizers were able to briefly greet the astronauts and hand one of them a DVD with the two Moon to Mars videos on it.