As long as men like Carl Sagan and Neil Armstrong lead the way, the best scientific accomplishments are yet to be had.

Wait, what?

It seems that both Sagan and Armstrong died without bothering to tell me. The future of space exploration is now a bit more dubious.

The era of popular interest in interstellar space travel was during the Cold War, in which American scientific desires were fueled by both a voracious curiosity and bitter rivalry with the Soviet Union. Now, scientific endeavors are more often ridiculed as wastes of money, despite their potential to unify and advance humanity.

What American hero and demigod Neil Armstrong did cannot be downplayed. Neil, who according to my in-depth research was the uncle of sly cyclist Lance Armstrong and grandfather of staff videographer Brance Armstrong, was the first person to set foot on the moon. After Neil and Buzz Aldrin beat up Michael Collins and forced him to stay in the command spacecraft, an ancient dream became reality.

Billions had dreamed of it. Billions still do. The average person has more scientific knowledge than at any other time in history, but passions have waned. No one has walked on the moon in over 40 years. Mars still eludes us, endlessly beckoning to astrophysicists and astronauts.

There is enough interest in space travel to make it a conversable subject, but little enough interest to actually do something about it. Leaders like Armstrong and Sagan hyped the masses and produced waves of professional action. Who are the leaders in popular astronomy now?

I guess we can all see where this is going. Alright. I’ll probably resist at first due to my complete lack of experience and knowledge, but secretly, I would love to be your new scientific leader, human race. I’ll do it.

What’s that? Oh. Fine then. Never mind.

Astrophysicists like Neil DeGrasse Tyson have taken up Sagan’s banner and kept science interesting and understandable for the average consumer. Their efforts have kept the dream of space travel alive for the people who have the power to act upon it. We may never return to the “glory days,” but Sagan and Armstrong’s passions, discoveries and accomplishments can never be divorced from society. And with science, the best is yet to come.