Celebrating the 50-Year Anniversary of the Moon Landing

The Saturn V rocket image is projected on the east side of the Washington Monument to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing. (Photo: by Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Tomorrow, on Saturday, July 20, America will celebrate the 50-year anniversary of the United States becoming the first nation to land a man on the moon.

Lee Edwards, Ph.D., distinguished fellow in conservative thought at Heritage’s B. Kenneth Simon Center for Principles and Politics and a leading historian, reflects on what the moon landing meant for America – then and now.

“Let us proclaim, without embarrassment, that America, and only America, had the requisite leadership, scientific community, and resources to make it possible for Apollo astronaut Neil Armstrong to take that giant leap for mankind,” says Edwards. You can read his full article here.

From Heritage President Kay Coles James: 50 Years After Apollo 11 Moon Landing, America Is Once Again Asserting Leadership in Space

From The Daily Signal: The Legacy of the Moon Landing

Check out Heritage’s Space Policy Issue Page

What is the “next frontier” for America?

Donation & Membership Information

Join hundreds of thousands of conservatives as a member of The Heritage Foundation with your contribution.

Contact the membership office:
(800) 546-2843 or

Comments (6)

David - July 19, 2019

The next frontier for America is to figure out how to live within its means and how we are going to pay down the national debt and quit robbing our kids and grandkids of a prosperous future and opportunity to achieve the American dream.

Charles Sears - July 19, 2019

So wish I saw you more on tv. see Donna Baizlile, fox, so often, ??? just wondering? luv u, c.s..

Connie Jagodzinski - July 20, 2019

Protecting our own nation, restoring sanity to those who govern us, lowering living costs so people can afford homes and invest in our future. Restoring the USA is the most important frontier now.

Paul Wolf - July 20, 2019

Space defense, or as President Trump calls it the Space Force. Space will become the next front requiring military defense. Wars have moved from land to the sea and then the air. The next military frontier is space (earth orbit). China and Russia has been working along these lines for some time. Now is not the time to be allocating scads of the federal budget on returning man to the moon or ultimately Mars. In a different world, that would be great. In the world we now live in, space-defense capabilities is the only priority.

William Coates - July 20, 2019

Next frontier: correcting the defective worldviews that our public education system has propagated for the last two or three generations. That is the job of responsible individuals – the federal behemoth is very ill-suited for correcting endemic defects that only outsiders can see.

Chris Milord - July 21, 2019

There are several new frontiers that could be explored, including our solar system and beyond. However, there are many pressing problems on planet earth to confront in this century.
Private/public partnerships could form in order to reduce national conflicts, diseases, pollution, and poverty. Greater resources could be leveraged to alleviate these urgent challenges. They will never be totally solved, but they can be reduced with determination and funding.
Better health, responsible liberty, and opportunity can transform developing nations so that they can prosper and apply the rule of law. Free enterprise and good governance in these states can reduce the problem of illegal immigration and transnational crime. Improving life on earth should take priority over an excessive emphasis on space exploration.