July 20 , 2009 marks the 40th anniversary of moon landing

40 years ago, July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to land on the moon, making the U.S. last to start but first to finish in the 'space race' with USSR. Armstrong's now famous words, "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," inspired a generation of scientists.

The new R&D enterprise it fostered, built to support America's geopolitical ambitions and based largely on federally-funded contracts and specifications rather than the private funding that had been the primary source of basic research before World War II, has had a remarkable effect on science and how advancements are made.