From Aviation Week. A very interesting idea. What do you think?

(NASA is considering letting students help select teachers to go into space. Eugene A. Cernan, who 30 years ago this month commanded the last Apollo mission to the Moon, has a different idea.)



The history of exploration is filled with stories of incredible discovery and triumph followed by abandonment and loss. Textbooks are replete with the chronicles of nations rich in culture and pioneering spirit that quit exploring and lost their roles as global leaders. In the 15th and 16th centuries, China, Portugal and Spain competed to explore the New World, but then their leaders decided to stop. The result was an end to their reign as technological and cultural innovators.

Which path will the U.S. take? Will pressing needs and problems at home keep the nation confined to our own planet? Or will the U.S. continue to expand the frontiers of air and space, and reap the benefits inherent in a space-faring nation?

To remain competitive and to maintain world leadership and domestic security, America needs a highly educated, superbly trained and decidedly motivated workforce. But there is evidence that America's leaders of tomorrow are not keeping pace in mathematics, science and engineering. The problem seems to be that there is little to inspire the next generation.

Space and aviation have been sources of inspiration and romance for more than 100 years. The U.S. desperately needs to do something to recapture the pioneering spirit that allowed it go to the Moon. America must find a way to instill in its children the desire to launch expeditions into the unknown--to breach what today seems impractical or even impossible. If I can call the Moon my home long before today's generation of young adults were even born, then I challenge them and their children to tell me what in their lifetime is impossible.

In 1998, John Glenn's historic space shuttle flight was an inspiration to all Americans. His mission on board Discovery rekindled fond memories of our early days of space exploration. To a generation unborn when John first orbited the Earth in 1962, it was as if Christopher Columbus had come alive and walked into their living rooms.

But, if we can send a 77-year-old into space, why not a 17-year-old? The teenagers of today are the ones who will become our leaders of tomorrow. Let's give their generation some ownership of space and ultimately of their own destiny. Theirs is the one that will determine how and when mankind will return to the Moon and one day set foot on Mars. All too often I hear that teenagers need real heroes. Let's give them heroes, heroes of their own generation. Give them a reason to dream and reach for their own star--to make the impossible happen.

Space is one of the greatest untapped educational resources available to us. That is why I propose that Americans collectively develop a unique educational program led by our civil space agency--a program that would stimulate a youngster's imagination in pursuit of a dream. Such an endeavor would give aspiring scientists, engineers, aviators, photographers, teachers and artists an opportunity to experience firsthand the excitement and challenge of discovery. Just imagine a youngster entering high school knowing that he or she might realize the dream of actually flying in space before graduating and going off to college. How about that as a motivational force for studying science and math? Make learning fun and you can teach a kid anything!

The U.S. should challenge its youth beyond their own expectations by giving them a chance to be on board during our voyage to the stars, not simply as a passenger who has $20 million for a ticket to ride into orbit, but as a crew member selected for a purpose. This can and should be done now, not later.

Is it the U.S.' destiny to lead? Most Americans want to believe this is so, but it is the seemingly small decisions that often resonate for generations. Americans are now within reach of an opportunity to secure their role as the technological world leader in the centuries to come and, equally important, to excite the minds and inspire the imaginations of our young people today. To what better legacy can their elders subscribe?

Too many years have passed for me to still be the last man to have left his footprints on the Moon. I believe with all my heart that somewhere out there is a young boy or girl with indomitable will and courage who will lift that dubious distinction from my shoulders and take us back where we belong. Let us give that dream a chance.