During the anniversary of Apollo 11, NASA Administrator Thomas O. Paine said: "The success of Apollo 11 marked the beginning of a new and important phase of mankind - not just the triumphant end of a mission.

The mission was a voyage of discovery, and an important part of the discovery was the revelation of the infinite human potential for achievement as an endless new frontier was opened for future generations.

"Our remarkable progress in the first dozen years of the space age demonstrates that no dreams are impossible of realization, that the prospects for progress and human betterment here on earth as well as in space are limitless. And you may be sure that despite changing program directions, NASA will continue to play an exciting and vigorous role in the avant-garde of human progress."