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I looked out at the group of young men and women that the association had invited to receive scholarships based on their need and academic abilities, their faces bright with anticipation and potential. Although I certainly didn’t qualify as a wealthy man in dollars and cents, I was rich beyond measure with a treasury of life experiences that I hoped might inspire them. More than anything, I wanted to encourage them to believe in themselves, the way Lois had encouraged me. “So, scholars, open your arms wide,” I said. “Pursue America’s abundant opportunities and reach for the stars. Who knows? You just might get to your own moon landing.”

I wasn’t merely spouting tripe to those teenagers. I truly believe that we have the universe at our fingertips. We were on the right track when we took the challenge laid down by President Kennedy, and we will continue on the right track if we expand upon that commitment.

I remain passionate about my vision for space exploration. In September 2007, when Google cofounder Larry Page wanted to make a media splash with his company’s $30-million Lunar X PRIZE—an award to be split between the first two private-sector teams that can soft-land on the moon, robotically roam for at least 500 meters, and transmit a mooncast back to Earth—I stood at the podium with him to help sell the idea.

I believe that space travel will one day become as common as airline travel is today. I’m convinced, however, that the true future of space travel does not lie with government agencies—NASA is still obsessed with the idea that the primary purpose of the space program is science—but real progress will come from private companies competing to provide the ultimate adventure ride, and NASA will receive the trickle-down benefits.

Millions of people get excited about the possibility of going into space; something about space travel intrigues and inspires. And a few of them are movie moguls who have shown a great interest in space, like my friend Ron Howard, who directed Apollo 13 and who lent his name to promote the Sundance Award–winning documentary film In the Shadow of the Moon. It’s the story of the Apollo landings told by the astronauts themselves, starring several of us moonwalkers. Of course I’ve enjoyed conversing with my fellow explorer, Jim Cameron, the famed director of Titanic, at a number of film festivals and space events. He shares my passion for missions to Mars (and has even expressed interest in going there himself), and we also share an interest in exploring the oceans of the Earth.

I recall one evening when Lois and I went out to a charity event in Los Angeles at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in support of breast cancer research. The event was hosted by Tom Hanks, who produced the HBO series From the Earth to the Moon, starred in Apollo 13, and has always been supportive to us and all of the astronauts. Coincidentally it was an evening when we were experiencing a lunar eclipse. As Tom was making his introductions, in addition to talking about cancer research, he couldn’t resist talking about the moon. “Tonight we have a lunar eclipse, and we happen to have a man who actually walked on the moon.” Ironically, at this same event in 2009, Tom introduced and extolled the strength and courage of a breast cancer survivor close to me—my wife, Lois. I really appreciate guys like Tom, who have given so much of their time in support of such worthy charities, as well as our space program. And I don’t mind it at all that he titled his IMAX film on space exploration to the moon Magnificent Desolation, after my words.

On another occasion we were at the Beverly Hilton with Clive Davis, of Arista Records fame. I had only met Clive a few times, but Lois wanted to go to the pre–Grammy Awards party, so we attended. When Clive came out on stage, in a room full of famous celebrities, he said, “I want to recognize somebody really special who is here tonight—Buzz Aldrin!”

I was honored by both Tom’s and Clive’s kind words, but what it tells me is that space exploration