41st anniversary of moon landing

Surprisingly, there’s barely been a mention of this historic anniversary in the media or the blogosphere.

Maybe it’s because it’s not a “round number” anniversary, like 40th or 45th, or maybe it’s because morale is pretty low these days given the uncertain future of the space agency.

Whatever the reason, it should be realized that space exploration is still very relevant and will always exist in some form. At the same time, it’s going to still need qualified engineers, scientists and technology professionals to program the software that will propel those rockets, satellites and space ships beyond what is known as LEO — lower earth orbit.

While a respectable number of Latinos and Latinas have been a part of the space program, the sad truth is that when it comes to the professions that will be needed to keep space exploration a viable mission for the nation, Latinos and Latinas are as rare as moon rocks.

The careers most closely associated with the space program — and certainly not limited to it — are fields such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics — otherwise known as STEM careers.

The National Education Association sponsored a conference in April called “Nuestro Futuro 2010 Latino Education Conference on STEM.”