Not to leave planet Earth would be like castaways on a desert island not trying to escape...Sending humans to other planets ... will shape the future of the human race in ways we don't yet understand, and may determine whether we have any future at all.

The universe does not behave according to our pre-conceived ideas. It continues to surprise us.

What I have learned from life is to make the most of what you have got.

A million million million million (1 with twenty-four zeros after it) miles, the size of the observable universe.

The meaning in life is not out there but inbetween our ears. In many ways this makes us the lords of creation.

Obviously, because of my disability, I need assistance. But I have always tried to overcome the limitations of my condition and lead as full a life as possible. I have traveled the world, from the Antarctic to zero gravity.

Not to take this web of dualities as a sign we are on the right track would be a bit like believing that God put fossils into the rocks in order to mislead Darwin about the evolution of life.