祝賀中國

Congratulations China on the success of the Chang 3 mission to the moon. The probe has landed, the rover deployed and mankind has for the first time since the 1970s placed a controlled vehicle on the surface of Earth's natural satellite in the name of science.

There is much still to discover about our moon, the arguably most prominent and attainable object in space in our time.

Sadly, my country, once the leader in the advancement of space technologies has decided to forget this goal assuming the few objectives achieved decades ago amount to the conclusion of the quest for knowledge among what once were referred to as "the heavenly bodies." Hopefully, nations like the People's Republic of China that have shown great strides in this discipline are set to continue mankind's path towards a greater understanding and appreciation of the resources that are there before us in space.

Once again, congratulations to the people of China for their achievement today, and thank you from an American knowing that the whole world benefits from steps like this in staying true to the vision of a future mankind in space.