Quotes About Space

It might have been a small step for Neil, but it was a big step for me.

I know the sky is not the limit, because there are footprints on the Moon -- and I made some of them!

From the distance of the moon, Earth was four times the size of a full moon seen from Earth. It was a brilliant jewel in the black velvet sky.

Did you know I took the first space selfie during Gemini 12 mission in 1966? BEST SELFIE EVER

When our crew was announced, I told my wife that I'd just as soon be on a later flight because I didn't want all the press and all the attention for the rest of my life for being on the first landing. Because that's all the press seems to care about. "Who was first? Who was on the first landing?" Nobody ever asks who was the seventh person on the Moon.

In my mind, public space travel will precede efforts toward exploration -- be it returning to the moon, going to Mars, visiting asteroids, or whatever seems appropriate. We've got millions and millions of people who want to go into space, who are willing to pay. When you figure in the payload potential of customers, everything changes.

The first time I applied to be an astronaut, NASA turned me down. I was not a test pilot, they said, and at that time, NASA wanted only test pilots. Other people, no matter how bright or talented, need not apply. Sure, I was disappointed, but I was determined and I knew the sky was not the limit, so I applied again.

I'm convinced that sending people to Mars is so expensive that if you go once and bring the people back and then go again and bring the people back, we're eventually going to run out of money. But what if we send people the first time and they don't come back? What if they stay there?

What comes after the moon? I think you can guess: Mars.

The view from space is like having a globe on your desk -- it's a broadening experience.

The future is about wings and wheels and new forms of space transportation, along with our deep-space ambition to set foot on another world in our solar system: Mars. I firmly believe we will establish permanence on that planet. And in reaching for that goal, we can cultivate commercial development of the moon, the asteroid belt, the Red Planet itself and beyond.

I believe that space travel will one day become as common as airline travel is today. I'm convinced, however, that the true future of space travel does not lie with government agencies -- NASA is still obsessed with the idea that the primary purpose of the space program is science -- but real progress will come from private companies competing to provide the ultimate adventure ride, and NASA will receive the trickle-down benefits.

If we can conquer space, we can conquer childhood hunger.

I was saddened to learn of the passing of Leonard Nimoy, a fellow space traveler because he helped make the journey into the final frontier accessible to us all.... Indeed, there are strange new worlds to explore -- to seek out new life and start new civilizations. It is time to boldly go where no man -- or woman -- has gone before. Thanks to Leonard Nimoy and his beloved Mr. Spock, the bar has been set high for us to continue humanity's quest to probe outward in the universe.

iPhones compute more than what we had for Apollo but if I throw them in the air will they do a star sighting?

Only a large-volume market like space travel can attack the barrier of high costs.

Inspiring kids to dream big is important to me. Today's kids will be carrying out Mars missions.

As time goes by, I'm increasingly impressed by how very special and timely it was that we got the degree of national commitment needed to put people on the Moon. For the first time, this nation was united in trying to develop an interplanetary capability. We've been trying to repeat that situation ever since.

I use plane rides to write down my thoughts. Such as figuring out radial distance plots for Mars missions.

Mars could very well be a staging location for the resources of the asteroid belt. We have to learn how to get a payback somewhere, but it's beyond Mars that the real payoff will come from minerals.

I'm flying over AZ and it looks like Mars. Maybe with a bit too much atmosphere though.

Mars is far more attractive as an outpost colony for earthlings than the moon is.

My salute to the American flag on the moon was my proudest moment.

It was designed to have an impact on the stalemate over Mutually Assured Destruction with the Soviet Union. Us reaching the moon convinced Gorbachev and other leaders that the Soviet Union couldn't compete with the U.S., so they revised their agenda. But people have short memories.