MAN ON THE MOON THIRTY YEARS LATER; ASTRONAUTS HONORED FOR '69 FEAT.

Byline: Michael Kilian and Tamara Lytle Chicago Tribune 

Promising to give the same level of support to the U.S. space program in the 21st century that fueled the race to the moon, Vice President Al Gore pledged on Tuesday that the United States would pursue the exploration of the universe beyond Earth's solar system.

Addressing the Apollo 11 astronauts who first set foot on the moon at a 30th anniversary ceremony of their historic mission, Gore honored their accomplishment as he sought to inspire a new generation to reach beyond the current limits of science and seek previously unimaginable frontiers.

The words may have sounded somewhat hollow to the crew of the first moon-landing mission, who have joined other space enthusiasts in lamenting the lack of attention and money being paid to exploration of the world beyond Earth orbit.

The nation's space budget has shriveled since the days of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins because of tight domestic spending budgets and the disappearance of the Soviet military threat that gave the Apollo program its impetus. As the Cold War waned, so did the will of Washington politicians to spend money on human space exploration.

Armstrong, awarded the nation's highest aviation honor Tuesday along with his Apollo crewmates, noted at a recent news conference that children used to read about his exploits in science class. Now they read about him in history class.

Aldrin agreed. ``The achievements of Apollo were so bold and our subsequent efforts so timid that the energy of those years seems a youthful dream,'' the former astronaut, who has legally changed his first name from Edwin, said last month. ``A generation of space explorers have languished in Earth orbit almost three decades.''

Those feelings were set aside Tuesday, the 30th anniversary of the first moon walk, as the Apollo 11 crew received the Smithsonian Institution's much-prized Samuel P. Langley Gold Medal from Gore, who as a young man was present at the launch of the Apollo 11 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

``Your whole skeleton shook with the roar,'' Gore said at the ceremony in the National Air and Space Museum. ``The power was just overwhelming. . . . We are privileged to be able to say to our grandchildren that we met you and saw you and reveled in your accomplishment.''

Gore said that when Apollo 11 sent back the message, ``Tranquility Base here; the Eagle has landed,'' a nation divided over civil rights and an unpopular war ``became a truly United States - a nation united by pride.''

However, national pride was not enough to sustain the high level of public funding in space exploration that marked the Apollo era. ``Their (NASA) budget is one-third what it was 30 years ago, adjusting for inflation,'' said John Pike of the Federation of American Scientists.

In recent years, NASA administrator Dan Goldin has pushed his staff to cut costs and look for more efficient ways of operating as Congress has shaved the space budget year after year. This year, NASA's budget is $13.66 billion, compared with $14.5 billion five years ago. President Clinton proposed even less, $13.5 billion, for next year.

Shuttle launches have slowed so much that NASA supporters worry that crews won't get enough experience to keep proficient. This year, only five shuttles will lift off, including one scheduled for early Thursday after a two-day delay that will feature the first female commander, Eileen Collins.

Tuesday's ceremony evoked memories of a time of intense public interest in space.

The Smithsonian's Langley Medal has been given only 21 times since it was created at the urging of inventor Alexander Graham Bell in 1908. The first recipients were Wilbur and Orville Wright and others have included Charles Lindbergh, the first pilot to solo the Atlantic, and Gen. Benjamin O. Davis, leader of World War II's illustrious all-black Tuskegee Airmen.

According to the Smithsonian's Amy Dyson, the astronauts received the medal three decades after the fact because it is awarded for an individual's total contribution to aeronautics and space flight and not just for a single event.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo: (1 -- color) Earth, as seen from the Apollo 11 spacecraft, rises over the lunar landscape where landings helped unlock secrets of the moon's origin.

Photo courtesey NASA

(2 -- color) Apollo 11 astronauts Buzz Aldrin, left, and Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, take part in a ceremony Tuesday.

Scott Maclay/Associated Press