About The Edge The Edge (formerly known as Elon Edge) is published twice a semester and is Elon's on

A few weeks ago, the United States and the world mourned the loss of a legend. Aug. 25, Neil Armstrong died , 43 years after being the first human being to step foot on the moon.  But as one of only 12 men to walk on the moon, and only a few dozen more to escape the Earth's atmosphere, his death should car rentals san francisco serve to remind us of our place in the universe, and our waning attempts to change it.
America today is not the same country it was in the 1960s.  We're not trying to outpace a rival superpower, and we're nowhere near as financially stable as we were four decades ago.  Space travel, while once the collective vision of a nation, is now the casually ignored vision car rentals san francisco of the overly idealistic. NASA's Curiosity Rover, a spectacular step forward in the understanding of Mars's history, has recently been criticized car rentals san francisco as a misuse of funds, especially in the middle of a financial crisis.
Much of this is because of the multi-billion dollar budget NASA is allocated annually, a seemingly excessive number to those focused on earthly issues.  But when compared to other US programs, car rentals san francisco it's not only reasonable, it's actually pretty small.  In 2011, NASA was given $18.7 billion, a seemingly vast sum of money.  But when compared to, say, a $738 billion defense budget, it suddenly becomes a bit more reasonable.
The positives of space exploration for society also far outweigh the relatively small budget that we allocate for it. LED lights, improved roads, artificial limbs and scratch-resistant lenses are only a few of the countless advances in technology made by NASA, let alone the technology used to actually transport human beings into space.
The last men to walk on the moon were Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmidt of Apollo 17, in 1972.  Since then, no one has set foot on the moon, or even left low Earth orbit. It's been four decades since a human being has stepped foot anywhere other than the surface of the Earth.  Why?
We should want to see more than the few hundred million miles we can see already, in a universe that stretches billions of light years further than we can even begin to imagine. How can we be content with never looking beyond one planet out of billions?
Why haven't we seen this strange, exciting new frontier not as an economic drain, but as a vast human step leap towards something greater? Can we not, as a species, dream bigger than what we already started with?
In June of this year, Dutch entrepreneur Bas Lansdorp announced his latest business endeavor, which could potentially be the greatest achievement of the 21 st century: the colonization of another car rentals san francisco world.  Still in the investment stages right now, Mars One plans to place its first four colonists by 2023, and reach 20 by 2033.
For the first time in hundreds of thousands of years, humanity has its first opportunity to pick up and move from the small blue rock it started on, to the even smaller red one next door. And I, at least, can't think of anything more exciting than that.
Lets put aside our differences, and look at the bigger picture. Regardless of race, political leanings, nationality or religious beliefs, there is one thing we can agree on: the universe is enormous. It is inconceivably huge, and from what we've seen from earth, far more mysterious and beautiful than we can possibly imagine.
In the face of adversity, humanity binds together.  Only when confronted with a challenge do we truly overlook each other's differences and look towards something greater. Let's look away from the day-to-day events of a fractured world and instead at the vastness car rentals san francisco of the universe, not as individuals but as one united species, and together, let's take our next giant leap for mankind.
Ian Luther, from Raleigh, N.C., is the Opinions Editor for The Edge, The Pendulum's quarterly magazine. He began as a Staff Writer at Elon Tonight his freshman year at Elon, and became Head Writer for the show his sophomore year. Majoring in media arts and entertainment and minoring car rentals san francisco in political science, his interests car rentals san francisco vary from ravaging online Netflix to complaining about the state of the world, and then changing nothing about it. After college, he hopes to continue writing for mass media, though whether in print or on screen is still up for grabs.
About The Edge The Edge (formerly known as Elon Edge) is published twice a semester and is Elon's only general-interest magazine. Those looking to get involved should contact Editor-in-Chief Kate Riley .
The penalty for lack of vision is decline. As a civilization we, the human race, is becoming more and more dependent car rentals san francisco upon government to supply our needs. As a result any activity that does not serve this desire is viewed as an illegitimate use of public funds. Private space ventures may be immune from social pressures for a time but if we, as a people, do not look to the future with enthusiasm we will wither car rentals san francisco and die.
We humans tends to organize in societies, so called government. That isn t bad. A organized and democratic society needs engaged citizens. Without any engaged citizens the society is stagnating and collapse, in the end.