Man must explore.
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing, Turner Classic Movies has been showing films about space travel all day today, which is how I got to see the documentary For All Mankind, which was itself put together in time for the 20th anniversary in 1989. Directed by Al Reinert, who later collaborated on the screenplay for Apollo 13 and wrote two episodes of the series From the Earth to the Moon, the film used archival footage shot by NASA during its various moonshots in the late '60s and early '70s (much of which would have an ethereal feel even without the Brian Eno music) coupled with audio interviews with many of the astronauts who had taken part in them. More than just a time capsule, it's an invaluable reminder of a time not so long ago when America had the wherewithal to try some damned fool things just because they hadn't been done before -- and for science, no less. Maybe that expedition to Mars doesn't seem quite so far-fetched now.