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When Governor Andrew Cuomo recently declared that America has "never been so big," he probably did not think of the remarkable results of the Apollo space program, which pushed humanity beyond of the low Earth orbit for the first time (and for the moment only), and landed 12 Americans on the moon between 1969 and 1972.

Apollo's success is based on a long series of groundbreaking scientific and technological breakthroughs, many of which have direct applications in other areas of human endeavor, including aeronautics, communications and computing. Indeed, our modern way of life and creature comfort would be unthinkable without NASA. More importantly, landings on the moon have inflamed the imagination of Americans and the world, especially young people. They also brought the Americans together, in a spirit of joy and intense national pride, in a way that no other government program has ever realized.

Many Americans remember the day Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon as one of the most memorable and inspiring moments of their lives.

However, each step in space has a cost. Very rarely, this cost comes in the form of courageous astronauts, who risk their lives to advance the cause of scientific knowledge and to defend the intrepid pioneering spirit that has always defined America. . Most often, this cost comes from NASA's budgets, which cover all the bright brains and sophisticated technology that make exploration and space travel possible.

During the peak years of the Apollo program, the federal government spent up to 4% to 5% of its total spending and 1% of its US GDP on the "race to space". Unfortunately, in recent years, especially under President Obama, these numbers have gone down. At present, about half of 1% of the federal budget goes to NASA and only a tenth of 1% of US GDP. As a result, the perception of many Americans that we are still spending huge amounts of money exploring space is totally wrong.

Some would say that our next big space trip will not be spared NASA, but thanks to private initiatives such as Elon Musk's well-grounded plan to install Mars. SpaceX, the rocket company of Musk, is plagued by problems and it is by no means clear that it can raise the funds needed to perform more than occasional stunts in distant spaces, such as placing an electric car in orbit solar manikin in the driver's seat: "Starman". If Americans want to explore the depths of space and rely on the dynamics of Apollo, then private projects are not the answer.

No, only a strong public-private partnership, leveraging federal government resources and the know-how of leading companies (including SpaceX) can realize America's fate in space. Fortunately, this fate is about to materialize, while NASA, in association with several aerospace giants, is putting the finishing touches on the Space Launch System (SLS).

The SLS is expected to fly in the summer of 2020. This will be the most powerful rocket in history and the only one designed explicitly to support the exploration of deep space. President Trump announced that one of his first tasks will be to assist in the construction of a lunar orbit space station. From this base of operations, versions of the SLS will support missions to Mars and beyond. The SLS will also carry a probe into Europe, one of Jupiter's moons, where some scientists believe that under a vast layer of ice, an ocean can harbor a primitive life.

It is worth repeating that NASA has a plan and a budget for all this to happen. He also has a track record of success. Therefore, if we are to take a new step in human evolution and make our way through the stars, it will be the SLS that will take us there.

The existing SLS program places the United States on the path of further exploration of our solar system, a return to the moon and a landing of astronauts on Mars. All this, however, depends on funding, which was anemic under President Obama, who was content to let America play a secondary role in space in the 21st century. Fortunately, President Trump has set a much more ambitious agenda for NASA, claiming that this space is "America's next big frontier" and promising to devote the necessary resources to the achievement of tremendous feats by NASA, in the name of the American people and humanity.

Although we do not need Apollo-sized budgets to build the SLS and conquer space, we need to understand that a country that spends only one-tenth of its GDP on space exploration will only make its interplanetary flight at a wolf's pace. . To launch the realization of our destiny in space and better serve future generations, who will benefit from scientific knowledge and technological advances that a vigorous space program will encourage, we must spend more.

The question is simple: do we want to be the generation that has advanced to the stars or do we want to be the generation that sits on our hands and let our children and grandchildren take on the heavy task? For a great nation and a great people like ours, there can be only one answer.

Nicholas L. Waddy is a history professor associated with SUNY Alfred and blogs at: www.waddyisright.com. His essay was originally published in Townhall.