Dear readers,

The heat of summer is upon us, and there is no better time than a breezy summer evening to enjoy being outdoors with family and friends. As you look up in the night sky, does the moon feel far away?

We launch this issue of American View on July 20 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of one of the greatest scientific achievements in the history of mankind, the first manned space mission to land on the moon. The journey began on May 25, 1961, when President John F. Kennedy announced the ambitious goal of sending astronauts to the moon before the end of the decade. Eight years later, Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong stepped out of the lunar module and took "one small step" in the Sea of Tranquility, calling it "a giant leap for mankind." He was joined later on the lunar surface by Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Aldrin, while Command Module Pilot Michael Collins orbited above.

Millions of people watched the drama unfold on television images taken by the lunar surface camera. Nearly everyone who was alive at the time has a story to tell about what they were doing and how they felt when the news of the lunar landing reached them. The actual account of the Apollo 11 mission as told by the astronauts themselves offers a fascinating view of the details of the mission, including a few humorous anecdotes.

Today, twelve men have walked on the moon, and more than 80 countries have worked together to send robotic spacecraft to most of the planets in our solar system. On March 24, President Obama, with a group of schoolchildren and members of Congress, talked to the crew of the Space Shuttle at the International Space Station (ISS). Among the members that joined the "space chat" was Mission Specialist Koichi Wakata, who said that he had longed to go into space ever since he saw the Apollo lunar landing when he was five years old. On June 3, Dr. Wakata from aboard the ISS spoke about Japan’s "Kibo" (laboratory module in space) with Prime Minister Aso and students of Omiya Elementary School in Saitama City.

Until recently, space travel was a dream that could only be attained by astronauts with highly specialized training. State Department science writer Cheryl Pellerin highlights some of the possibilities for commercial space travel (Part 1, Part 2) being explored today. The idea seems futuristic, but there is a possibility that even you and I will be able to take off on a tour of the planets someday.