Today, we celebrate the birthday of the iconic leader of the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sadly, he was killed in 1968 at age of 39. If he were alive today, he would have turned 91 years old.

Today also happens to be the 90th birthday of Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, a living legend who made history by becoming one of the first two men to set foot on the Moon.

While many look back fondly on days of the Apollo missions, others recognize it as a time of turmoil and strife, where King and other civil rights leaders harshly criticized NASA’s space program.

Back in 1969, when Aldrin and Neil Armstrong left their footprints on the Moon, our country was still reeling from the 1968 assassination of Dr. King. A Christian minister who dedicated his life to nonviolent resistance against the unjust laws of the time, Dr. King paid the ultimate price: he was murdered in a violent attack. He was shot as he stood alongside fellow icons of the Movement—ministers Jesse Jackson, Hosea Williams, and Ralph Abernathy (with politician Andrew Young close by)—on the balcony of a Memphis hotel. His death triggered a wave of racial unrest and demonstrations in dozens of cities across America.

Time magazine reported in 1969 that Buzz Aldrin was the only astronaut to participate in the Palm Sunday memorial service honoring Dr. King in 1968. It has been speculated (tho we cannot confirm) that he paid a price: he was to be the first man to walk on the Moon and was relegated to second because he participated in the service without seeking permission.

Before then, America seemed to lay all its hope and optimism in NASA’s space program. After the Soviets launched Sputnik in 1957, the Space Race was on! Who could forget President John F. Kennedy’s promise in 1961 to land a man on the Moon by the end of the decade? NASA’s budget was increased by 89% the next year, and 101% the year after that.

NASA was even instrumental in helping African-Americans achieve some measure of equality at the time. President Kennedy and then-vice president Johnson sought to make the space program more inclusive. Recruiters were asked to travel around the country to seek out African-American scientists and engineers. The director of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Dr. Wernher von Braun, actively spoke out against segregation and took steps to desegregate the Center. Meanwhile, at NASA Langley Research Center, African-American mathematicians like Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughn, were serving as human computers for the Mercury program.

Nevertheless, Dr. King might have objected to the space program. On August 17, 1967, in a speech at the 11th annual convention of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in Atlanta, he stated:

“If our nation can spend $35 billion a year to fight an unjust, evil war in Vietnam and $20 billion to put a man on the moon, it can spend billions of dollars to put God’s children on their two feet right here on earth.”

As a minister and proponent of peace, Dr. King was vehemently opposed to America’s involvement in the Vietnam War. He considered it to be colonialist and spoke out strongly against it. He also objected the deflection of spending away from antipoverty programs.

Other leaders of the Movement clearly shared Dr. King’s views. In 1968, Dr. King and the SCLC organized the Poor People’s Campaign to address economic injustice. After his death, Rev. Abernathy took up the mantle and led the Poor People’s March on Washington.

The next year, Rev. Abernathy, along with Rev. Williams, went so far as to organize a group of approximately 500 people to protest the Apollo 11 launch. They arrived at the Kennedy Space Center with two mules and a wagon to contrast them with the high-tech Saturn V rocket on the launch pad. Rev. Abernathy also carried sign that read: “$12 to feed an astronaut. We could feed a starving child for $8.” The goal was to demonstrate the unfair distribution of resources in American.

Perhaps King didn’t flat out reject the space program. Perhaps he was advocating that we devote at least as much of our resources to solving the problems of the day happening down here on Earth. Arguably, he could have supported meaningful scientific research conducted by NASA as long as social programs were also adequately funded.

Today, America’s space program now includes the U.S. Space Force, a military branch dedicated to space warfare. It is the reality of the times we live in.

It also includes: significant climate research and other Earth science; the launch of communications satellites that keep us informed about what’s going around the world; astronomy research to help us figure out our place in the universe and determine how much longer our planet will last; and manned exploration just in case we have to leave this planet one day for good.

Fortunately, we are also seeing an uptick in private funds used to further space exploration, which should help free up resources for social programs.

So what would Dr. King think if he were alive today?

Given his general views against warfare and his concern over the diversion of government funds away from social programs, he undoubtedly would object to the creation of this Space Force. On the other hand, given the scientific advances made by NASA and the shift to the privatization of space exploration, he likely would support the continued our efforts to explore space.

Happy Birthday Dr. King & Buzz Aldrin!

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