Easier to put a man on the moon than it is to save the Earth from climate disaster

When Neil Armstrong took his fateful 'one small step' almost exactly 50 years ago, it was the culmination of an extraordinary effort that had begun back in 1961 when President Kennedy vowed that America would land a man on the moon before the decade was out.

At the time, he made the commitment in Congress – shortly after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to journey into space – a majority of Americans were opposed to the idea.