Would Everest have been scaled, the Moon walked upon or the north and south poles reached without footwear?

BBC: Northampton to host World at Your Feet conference

In a video message to the High-level session, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon called upon the scientific community to help make sense of the complex and interconnected challenges --including climate change, the financial crisis and food, water and energy insecurity -- that threaten human well-being and civilization as we know it.

UNESCO: Irina Bokova: we must harness the power of science to empower people | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

In his video message during the high-level segment, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon called upon the scientific community to help make sense of the complex and interconnected challenges --including climate change, the financial crisis and food, water and energy insecurity -- that threaten human well-being and civilization as we know it.

UNESCO: World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP)

The Moon Agreement builds upon the Outer Space Treaty but also says that any natural resources found on the moon are part of "the common heritage of mankind" - in other words, they must be shared.

CNN: Who owns the moon? It's 'complicated,' say experts

His book "Voices From the Moon" is based upon interviews with the surviving Apollo astronauts, and he concludes there's no "lunar syndrome" that's sent the moonwalkers down paths odder than any dozen former colleagues in other lines of work.

CNN: After walking on moon, astronauts trod various paths

In other company news, 36 years after astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin strode upon the Earth's only natural satellite, Schmidt's firm has launched Google Moon: A mapping service that lets homo sapiens explore the lunar surface from their PCs.

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