We’ve landed on the Moon. The program continues — Apollo 12 is up there right now. But I’ve been thinking about the question that Kennedy’s death made permanent: where does the program go after the Moon?

Kennedy’s speech in 1961 had the virtue of absolute clarity. One goal. One deadline. One metric: land a man on the Moon and return him safely before 1970. Every decision in the program could be measured against that goal. Does this advance the Moon landing? Does this put the Moon landing at risk? Yes or no.

The post-Apollo period doesn’t have that clarity. There are proposals for a space station, a space shuttle, a lunar base, a Mars mission. All of these are being discussed. None has been committed to with the same force as Kennedy’s 1961 speech.

A space station in Earth orbit: logical, useful for science and operations. But what’s it for in a way that creates the urgency that the Moon race created?

A Mars mission: the obvious next step, and exactly what Kennedy’s logic (we go because it’s hard) would support. But Mars is months away, not days. The technical challenges of keeping a crew alive for 500+ days in deep space are substantially harder than the 8-day Moon trip. The cost would be comparable to the whole Apollo program.

The Space Shuttle: practical, cost-reducing (in theory), oriented toward making orbital access routine. But routine isn’t inspiring. Routine doesn’t make a nation lean forward.

I don’t have an answer. I don’t think anyone does, which is why the post-Apollo period feels directionless compared to the urgency of the decade that preceded it.

The Moon was a destination. Space is not a destination. It’s a direction. “Which way in space” is the question we haven’t answered with any clarity.

I’ll keep watching. The answer will emerge from the decisions people make, not from the speeches they give.