[continued from previous message]   
      
   faked requires you to believe in an enormous conspiracy involving hundreds   
   of thousands of people over 50 years with no credible leaks. That's far less   
   plausible than believing we actually   
      
    01:22:16   
    went. So when people ask me,   
   "Do you really think we went to the moon?" I say, "Yes, absolutely, without   
   question. The evidence is clear." But I also understand why it seems impossible   
   because it really was almost impossible. We achieved something extraordinary,   
   something that pushed the limits of human capability. And maybe that's the   
   real lesson. Not that we can easily go to the moon anytime we want, but that   
   we can do incredibly difficult things when we're motivated, when we focus our   
      
    01:22:47   
    resources, when we have a clear goal. Now, let me talk about the   
   future. What comes next? Where do we go from here? First, we need to return   
   to the moon, Artemis, or some other program. We need to establish a permanent   
   presence, a lunar base, a stepping stone for deeper space exploration. Then   
   Mars, probably in the 2030s or 2040 seconds. First missions will be short   
   exploratory, but eventually we'll establish a permanent settlement. And then   
   what? The asteroid belt. The moons of Jupiter and Saturn.   
      
    01:23:25   
    These   
   are rich in resources. water, ice, metals, organic compounds, everything   
   we need to build more spacecraft, more habitats, more infrastructure. Over   
   centuries, we'll spread throughout the solar system and eventually beyond   
   to other star systems, to other planets orbiting other stars. That's the   
   long-term vision. That's where we're headed. Not in my lifetime, probably not   
   in your lifetime, but in the lifetime of our descendants. And it all starts   
   with those first steps. The moon, Mars,   
      
    01:24:02   
    building the capability   
   to live and work in space. Now, people ask me about the Fermy paradox. If the   
   universe is so vast, where are all the aliens? Why haven't we seen evidence of   
   other civilizations? And there are many possible answers. Maybe intelligent   
   life is rare. Maybe civilizations tend to destroy themselves before they can   
   expand. Maybe they're out there, but we haven't noticed them yet. Or maybe,   
   and this is what worries me, maybe space is even harder than we think. Maybe   
   most   
      
    01:24:33   
    civilizations never make it off their home planet. Maybe   
   they get stuck like we've been stuck for the last 50 years. And if that's   
   true, then it's crucial that we don't give up, that we keep pushing, that we   
   overcome the challenges and become a true space fairing civilization. Because   
   the alternative is to stay on Earth forever and eventually something will   
   happen to Earth. An asteroid, a super volcano. The sun will die on long   
   enough time scales. Extinction is inevitable if we stay on   
      
    01:25:07   
    one   
   planet. So we have to expand. We have to become a multilanet species. Not   
   for adventure, not for glory, but for survival. Now let me talk about my   
   parents. They were immigrants. They came to America with nothing. They worked   
   hard. They believed in the American dream. And part of that dream was the   
   space program. My father would watch the moon landings on our little black   
   and white TV. And even though he didn't understand the science, he understood   
   what it meant. It meant that anything was possible. That humans could achieve   
      
      
    01:25:44   
    incredible things. And that inspired me. It made me want to be   
   part of that. to contribute to human knowledge, to help push the boundaries   
   of what's possible. And that's what space exploration is really about. It's   
   about inspiration. It's about showing what we can accomplish. It's about   
   believing in a better future. When I teach students, I tell them this. Don't   
   just memorize facts. Understand principles. Ask big questions. Dream big   
   dreams. Because the universe is vast and wonderful and full   
      
    01:26:16   
    of   
   mysteries. And we have the privilege, the incredible privilege of being able   
   to explore it, to understand it, to expand into it. The moon landings were   
   just the beginning, a first step. We stumbled after that. We lost our way   
   for a while, but we're finding it again. And in the coming decades, we'll go   
   back to the moon. We'll go to Mars. We'll build the infrastructure for a true   
   space civilization. It won't be easy. It'll be incredibly hard. maybe even   
   impossible by current standards. But so was the   
      
    01:26:51   
    moon landing and   
   we did that. So we can do this too. We can overcome the challenges. We can   
   solve the problems. We can achieve the impossible because that's what humans   
   do. We dream. We explore. We push boundaries. We reach for the stars. And   
   one day, maybe not in my lifetime, but someday, humans will stand on worlds   
   light years from Earth. We'll look up at an alien sky. We'll see unfamiliar   
   constellations. And we'll know that we made it. That we became a true space   
   fairing species. That's the   
      
    01:27:28   
    dream. That's the vision. That's   
   why the moon landings matter. Not because we planted a flag 50 years ago,   
   but because they showed us what's possible. They prove that space is hard   
   but not impossible, difficult but achievable. And now it's up to us to   
   this generation and the next to build on that legacy to not let another 50   
   years pass without progress to keep pushing forward because the universe is   
   waiting. The future is calling and humanity's destiny is among the stars. So   
   when people ask me was it   
      
    01:28:05   
    impossible for humans to land on the   
   moon I tell them this yes it was impossible by any reasonable measure it   
   should have been impossible but we did it anyway we achieved the impossible   
   and that's the most human thing of Oh.   
      
      Paul   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)