Goal: Persuade the audience that the manned space program should be pushed forward at an accelerated rate.

Good afternoon. How many of you remember when Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon in 1969? Probably not many of you. For those of you who do remember, what did people feel at the time. Feelings varied, but most people felt proud. They were in awe. They were inspired. They felt a sense of great accomplishment, and unity. How long has it been since we felt that? Too long, I say. In the last twenty-five years, mankind has made many advancements, but no "giant leaps", as Neil Armstrong made. I feel that the stagnation of the manned space program plays a significant part in that. We take a shuttle up now and then to visit the Russian space station Mir, or to fix the Hubble telescope, but we haven't made any significant advancements out, and into space. **pause** I've loved science my entire life. I've kept track of a number of NASA projects, including Galileo and the ill-fated Mars Explorer missions. I love science fiction movies. But during my lifetime, there's been very little push for humans in space. Why? There are many reasons. For one thing, it costs a lot. People wonder if it's worth the price. Also, they don't see the potential benefits. They don't see that we actually gain a great deal from the manned space program. But probably the most important reason, though more subtle, is the lack of public interest. People just aren't concerned with space. Their priorities are directed somewhere else. I feel that this should be changed. I feel that the manned space program is essential to the advancement of humanity. I feel that the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks. Hopefully you will tend to agree by the time I finish.

Probably the biggest single complaint people have with the space program is that it’s expensive. Yes, it is. The question is, is it too expensive? That’s a tough one to answer. It depends on your priorities. If you think it’s important enough to spend the money on it, then it’s not too expensive. Let’s take a look at some of our nation’s priorities. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 4.5 billion dollars was spent in women’s specialty clothing stores last year, just in the month of December! In the same month, we spent over 2.8 billion dollars in liquor stores. In 1996, we spent almost 125 billion dollars on legal services! Where are our priorities? Elsewhere. Some people say that there’s not much money to be made in space. That’s very untrue. Here’s an idea for you to chew on. **pause** Let’s organize an internationally funded, manned mission to the asteroid belt. Yes, it would cost a lot, and it would take a few years, but hear me out. Let's send these pioneers out there on a mission to retrieve an asteroid. We already know of many that would suit our purposes. Using a theoretical device called a "mass driver", they could use the waste material from the asteroid itself to propel it back to Earth. We could put the thing in orbit, and mine it. In a single asteroid, there are trillions of dollars worth of ores and minerals. Imagine it – that’s enough to take care of the entire federal deficit. Once it’s been mined, we have a very large, very stable platform on which to build a space station. The idea is perfectly feasible. It would just require a lot of planning, a fair amount of research and development, and a bundle of resources. In this case, if you weigh the good with the bad, I say that the good comes out on top.

But that’s too far out there for some people. They feel that the benefits of the manned space program are too remote to bother with. Are they? The material that spacesuits are made from is also used as roofing material for shopping centers, stadiums and other places. What about Tang? Most people enjoy an ice cold glass of Tang now and then. That’s a direct result of the space program. What about freeze-dried coffee, or dehydrated foods? There are a host of products that we use from day to day, without realizing where they came from. The manned space program has given us many of these products. Let's also not forget the vast potential for scientific and medical advancement in space. Years ago, when the astronauts travelled to the moon, we learned a great deal. If we established a permanent research station on the moon, think of how much MORE we could learn. We know there's water up there, probably left behind by a comet that impacted the surface. We could set up a self-sustaining environment, sort of like in "Biodome", if you've seen the movie – without Pauly Shore, of course.

As I mentioned earlier, though, the most significant reason why we're not pursuing the manned space program more aggressively is the lack of public interest. People watch science fiction movies, and they are entertained. They watch live footage of the astronauts fixing the Hubble telescope, and they are intrigued. They see pictures of our neighboring planets, and they think the pictures are pretty. Most people don't feel that any of it can have a personal effect on them. They don't feel that it's important. Instead, they focus on other things – primarily their own self-interest. Think about it. Why are there so many activist groups and "rights" crusaders in this country? It's not because we don't have freedom. We possess more freedom than any other nation on Earth. So, why are there still activists and crusaders? It runs more deeply than just exercising their freedom of speech. It's because people think mostly about themselves, and not about humanity or society – "the needs of the many", as Spock would put it. What about the 125 billion dollars that was spent on lawyers in 1996? If even a fraction of that money had been spent on establishing a presence in space, where would we be today? So, the big question is: "How can we combat this lack of interest?" That's a tough one, but the solution starts with each one of YOU. Society doesn't change it's ways easily, or quickly. But if enough individuals like you think in terms of what's best for humanity, or how can we move forward, change will come.

**pause and smile**

So… You now know some of the reasons why the manned space program hasn't been pursued more aggressively. You know some of the benefits that we've seen, and some of those that could be seen in the future. You also know that the key to reaching that future lies in each individual – that the people who make up our society and our world must begin to think in terms of what benefits the whole. I hope that you take this information to heart. Think about it, and decide for yourself what's best for the whole – what's best for our FUTURE. Only then will we see it come to pass. Thank you very much.