Hard, not easy

In a speech at Rice University in September 1962, US President John F. Kennedy announced plans for human spaceflight to the Moon by saying, “We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” These words marked a time when trust in and respect for science were high, and when big questions about the workings of nature were both humbling and inspiring. And although the goals of NASA’s Apollo program were not principally to do science, it inspired a generation of scientists. The ensuing years have seen this enthusiasm decline because of failings within as well as outside the world of science, as science is often ridiculed whenever findings lead to political debates. But the successful launch of a remarkable new space telescope this year has rekindled a sense of awe and wonder at the magnificence of the Universe and the thrill of human achievement.