Moon landing still has power to inspire 55 years later

Growing up in the 1970s, Rob Thacker often heard and saw replays and highlight clips of the historic 1969 moon landing – an event that altered the course of his life.

“That for me was a part of growing up and becoming a human being,” Thacker told CTV News Atlantic’s Todd Battis in an interview Monday. “It played a big role in what I do now.”

Thacker, an astrophysicist and professor of astronomy at Saint Mary’s University, reflected on the historic moon landing, which happened 55 years ago this month.

“For me looking back, it’s an absolute triumph of control technologies and human genius,” he said. “Sometimes having simpler systems distills you down to what you need to do.”

Thacker noted Mars remains the next major target for space exploration and the past work on the moon can provide a leg up to potentially get there.

“We have a foothold on the moon from 50 years ago, but it’s now about going back to the moon as a stepping stone, potentially for going further,” he said. “For sheer exploration, Mars is the next thing. We want to go back to the moon for development.”

Thacker said there could be a growing interest in space exploration among younger people as it’s not something they’ve seen prominently in the news like he did.

“This is a generation that hasn’t seen stuff like this on a day-to-day basis,” he said.