Op-ed: We can find unity on Mars

In our republic the past six months has been enough to make all of us wonder if there anything we can do to unify and lift us up as one nation. Almost every day there is another story of how divided we are as a country.

For those old enough to remember, 9/11 brought Americans together much like World War II brought the country together after Pearl Harbor was attacked. When times seem the toughest, it is an American trait to band together — and put the interest of the nation above self-interest.

Slowly over time, the feeling of unity and national pride that surfaced after 9/11 has faded away. We now find ourselves in a period of deep division. Are we simply doomed to watch the fabric of America continue to fray? Is there anything short of war and national tragedy that can bring us together?

We offer a solution. We need only look to the past to see the path for future unity. On Sept. 12, 1962, President John F. Kennedy delivered his famous "Moon Speech" at Rice University. The president set a goal for our country, to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade, which at that moment was unachievable. We simply did not have the technology to achieve such a goal.

Yet the people of this country didn't see the president's goal as an impossibility but rather as a challenge to come together and do something great. Out of that challenge we made it through the turbulent '60s, and in July 1969, we landed on the moon as a unified people "taking one small step for man — and one giant leap for mankind."

Now is the time for all Americans to again unify under the common cause of space exploration. Now is the time to unify as a people behind a common goal: to put an astronaut on Mars by 2025. It is a common goal for all Americans, and it would be about more than simply the national pride of landing on Mars. Such a bold goal would drive the advancement of technology, require advances in our education system, and would help transform our economy by replacing outdated and unneeded jobs with high-wage, high-tech 21st century jobs.

With this challenge we will find our next generation of great men and women who will fill the history books of tomorrow. Their achievements will be monumental and improve the quality of life for all Americans. From the Wright Brothers to Einstein to Steve Jobs — great minds from each generation meet the challenges of their time. If we accept the challenge to go to Mars, today's generation will most certainly surprise and amaze us with advances in technology we can't even imagine today.

Technology developed to make the trip to Mars may unlock the cure to cancer, the eradication of neuromuscular diseases or simply change the way we live each day in a simple but profound way.

The microwave oven is an example of a technology that was developed in the space program that is now used by most people daily. Who knows what daily task may be changed forever as we develop technology for the mission to Mars.

We should accept the challenge to go to Mars because that kind of task brings out the best of us as a people. We should do this because it will advance technology and improve our quality of life. But most of all we should do this because in striving to achieve this goal: It will unite us as a nation.

The writers

Jeff Kottkamp is president of Jeff Kottkamp, P.A. i Tallahassee. He served as Florida's lieutenant governor from 2007 to '11, when he was the cairman of board of Space Florida.

Rich Ramos is chairman and director of Ramos & Sparks Group, a Tallahassee business development and government consulting firm. His interest and research of space has been a driving policy issue that he has worked on for nearly 25 years.