cosmic perspective

this episode of NSN (july 30, 2008) aired just a few months before we elected our first black president. i finally found the transcript!

NEIL DeGRASSE TYSON: And now a birthday greeting from me to NASA.

Happy birthday, NASA! Did you know we're the same age? In the first week of October, 1958, you were born by an act of Congress, while I was born of my mother in the East Bronx.

I was three when your first astronaut orbited the Earth. I was 10 when you landed on the Moon. And I was 14 when you stopped going to the Moon altogether.

I was happy for you and for America. But the thrill of the journey, so vibrant in others, felt out of my reach. I knew that my skin color was much too dark for you to picture me as part of this epic adventure.

Of course, I shouldn't blame you for society's woes. Your conduct was a symptom of America's habits, not a cause. But I want you to know that I became an astrophysicist in spite of your achievements in space rather than because of them.

You've come a long way, though. Today, you look much more like America, from your senior-level managers to your most decorated astronauts. And when you're at your best, nothing on Earth inspires the dreams of a nation the way you do. All in the greatest quest there ever was, the search for our place in the universe.

NASA, as we both enjoy our 50th trip around the Sun, I look forward to seeing you back on the Moon. But don't stop there. Mars beckons, as do destinations beyond.

And that is my cosmic perspective.