--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Almost a quarter of our planet is a…" description: "\"Almost a quarter of our planet is a single mountain range and we didn't enter it until after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin went to the moon. So we wen..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b60/robert-ballard-13392_armstrong_almost-a-quarter-of-our-planet-is-a-sing_2292342.png" --- # Almost a quarter of our planet is a single mountain range… ![“Almost a quarter of our planet is a single mountain range and we didn't enter it until after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin went to the moon. So we went to the moon, played golf up there, before we went to the largest feature on our own planet.” quote by Robert Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b60/robert-ballard-13392_armstrong_almost-a-quarter-of-our-planet-is-a-sing_2292342.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b60/robert-ballard-13392_armstrong_almost-a-quarter-of-our-planet-is-a-sing_2292342.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b60/robert-ballard-13392_armstrong_almost-a-quarter-of-our-planet-is-a-sing_2292342.png) > “Almost a quarter of our planet is a single mountain range and we didn't enter it until after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin went to the moon. So we went to the moon, played golf up there, before we went to the largest feature on our own planet.” [Robert Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ballard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He notes that the Himalayas dominate Earth’s surface yet were explored only after lunar missions. **In simple terms:** Mountains were explored after the moon. Key Takeaway Recognize overlooked wonders. Themes exploration geography human curiosity perspective Mood curious inquisitive Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - travel planning - educational outreach - scientific research Key Concepts mountain geology space exploration Questions to Reflect On - Why do we prioritize space over Earth? - How can we better explore our own planet? A Different Perspective May overlook other significant features. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aldrin Went](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aldrin-went-5390361/) [Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/armstrong/) [Buzz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buzz/) [Buzz Aldrin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buzz-aldrin/) [Golf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/golf/) [Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moon/) [Mountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mountain/) [Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neil-armstrong/) [Our planet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-planet/) [Planets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planets/) [Played Golf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/played-golf/) [Quarters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quarters/) [Range](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/range/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Went Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/went-moon-259691/) ## Related quotes > [If you want something bad enough, you've got to make a bold move. Just make sure you clear the bold move with the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/if-you-want-something-bad-enough-you-ve-got-to-make-a-bold-move-just/) [Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/) > [Apollo 11 was the movie premiere of moon landings, with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Neil was a bit of a mystic, but also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-koppel/apollo-11-was-the-movie-premiere-of-moon-landings-with-neil-armstrong/) [Lily Koppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-koppel/) > [To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, the three astronauts from Apollo 11 visited the White House. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-o-brien/to-commemorate-the-40th-anniversary-of-the-moon-landing-the-three/) [Conan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-o-brien/) > ['2001' was written in an age which now lies beyond one of the great divides in human history; we are sundered from it forever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/2001-was-written-in-an-age-which-now-lies-beyond-one-of-the-great/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Neil Armstrong, that spaceman, he went to the moon but he ain't been back. It can't have been that good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/neil-armstrong-that-spaceman-he-went-to-the-moon-but-he-ain-t-been/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [I was an eight-year-old kid when I watched the first Apollo Moon Landing way back in 1969 and there was something about that moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-chiao/i-was-an-eight-year-old-kid-when-i-watched-the-first-apollo-moon/) [Leroy Chiao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-chiao/) > [“On 20 July 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the surface of the moon. In the months leading up to their expedition,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/on-20-july-1969-neil-armstrong-and-buzz-aldrin-landed-on-the-surface/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [I was the first person to tweet from space, but now every astronaut tweets from space and does Instagram and Snapchat and Face -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-massimino/i-was-the-first-person-to-tweet-from-space-but-now-every-astronaut/) [Michael J. Massimino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-massimino/) > [On July 20th, 1969, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong took the most expensive selfie in history. As the apex of an 8-year, $130 billion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-tumlinson/on-july-20th-1969-buzz-aldrin-and-neil-armstrong-took-the-most/) [Rick Tumlinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-tumlinson/) > [I'm tired of people telling me what I can, and can't do. If Neil Armstrong went to the moon, why can't I hold onto…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-ortiz/i-m-tired-of-people-telling-me-what-i-can-and-can-t-do-if-neil/) [Victor Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-ortiz/) > [I'm probably the only one in the world you can name that's worked with Billie Holiday, Louie Armstrong, Ella, Duke, Miles, Dizzy, Ray Charles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quincy-jones/i-m-probably-the-only-one-in-the-world-you-can-name-that-s-worked/) [Quincy Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quincy-jones/) > [Im probably the only one in the world you can name thats worked with Billie Holiday, Louie Armstrong, Ella, Duke, Miles, Dizzy, Ray Charles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quincy-jones/im-probably-the-only-one-in-the-world-you-can-name-thats-worked-with/) [Quincy Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quincy-jones/) > [What we will have attained when Neil Armstrong steps down upon the moon is a completely new step in the evolution of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wernher-von-braun/what-we-will-have-attained-when-neil-armstrong-steps-down-upon-the/) [Wernher von Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wernher-von-braun/) > [Many short-sighted fools think that going to the Moon was just a stunt. But the astronauts knew the meaning of what they were doing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/many-short-sighted-fools-think-that-going-to-the-moon-was-just-a/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [When I was little, my dad was in the Air Force. He introduced me to Neil Armstrong, and Neil Armstrong signed my moon book.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-fulcher/when-i-was-little-my-dad-was-in-the-air-force-he-introduced-me-to/) [Rich Fulcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-fulcher/) ## More by Robert Ballard > [I think the most important thing people can do to save our planet and the human race is to empower women!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ballard/i-think-the-most-important-thing-people-can-do-to-save-our-planet-and/) [Robert Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ballard/) > [Follow your own passion - not your parents', not your teachers' - yours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ballard/follow-your-own-passion-not-your-parents-not-your-teachers-yours/) [Robert Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ballard/) > [If you compare NASA's annual budget to explore the heavens, that one year budget would fund NOAA's budget to explore the oceans for 1,600 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ballard/if-you-compare-nasa-s-annual-budget-to-explore-the-heavens-that-one/) [Robert Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ballard/) > [Everyone is an explorer. How could you possibly live your life looking at a door and not open it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ballard/everyone-is-an-explorer-how-could-you-possibly-live-your-life-looking/) [Robert Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ballard/) > [My final question: Why are we not looking at moving out onto the sea? Why do we have programs to build a habitation on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ballard/my-final-question-why-are-we-not-looking-at-moving-out-onto-the-sea/) [Robert Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ballard/) > [There are more active volcanoes beneath the sea than on land by two orders of magnitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ballard/there-are-more-active-volcanoes-beneath-the-sea-than-on-land-by-two/) [Robert Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ballard/) > [What drives me is exploration with a purpose, more the classic Royal Geographical Society genre.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ballard/what-drives-me-is-exploration-with-a-purpose-more-the-classic-royal/) [Robert Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ballard/) > [There's probably more history now preserved underwater than in all the museums of the world combined. And there's no law governing that history. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ballard/there-s-probably-more-history-now-preserved-underwater-than-in-all/) [Robert Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ballard/) > [You don't go to Gettysburg with a shovel, you don't take belt buckles off the Arizona.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ballard/you-don-t-go-to-gettysburg-with-a-shovel-you-don-t-take-belt-buckles/) [Robert Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ballard/) > [Most of the southern hemisphere is unexplored. We had more exploration ships down there during Captain Cook's time than now. It's amazing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ballard/most-of-the-southern-hemisphere-is-unexplored-we-had-more-exploration/) [Robert Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ballard/) > [I can't travel without Sudoku.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ballard/i-can-t-travel-without-sudoku/) [Robert Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ballard/) > [ The fact that this chain of life existed \[at volcanic vents on the seafloor\] in the black cold of the deep sea and was… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ballard/the-fact-that-this-chain-of-life-existed-at-volcanic-vents-on-the/) [Robert Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ballard/) > [I mean, technology is amoral. It has no morality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ballard/i-mean-technology-is-amoral-it-has-no-morality/) [Robert Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ballard/) > [I prefer sayings over jokes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ballard/i-prefer-sayings-over-jokes/) [Robert Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ballard/) > [Forever may it remain that way. And may God bless these now-found souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ballard/forever-may-it-remain-that-way-and-may-god-bless-these-now-found-souls/) [Robert Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ballard/) [Explore all 50 Robert Ballard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ballard/) ## More Armstrong quotes > [I think we've all had enough of Coltrane saxophonists. There's a case of someone ruining a generation of saxophonists, as Louis Armstrong may have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bley/i-think-we-ve-all-had-enough-of-coltrane-saxophonists-there-s-a-case/) [Paul Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bley/) > [Man, you'd be surprised how much I'm learning - not only about myself, but about the musicians who came before me. You don't realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-hubbard/man-you-d-be-surprised-how-much-i-m-learning-not-only-about-myself/) [Freddie Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-hubbard/) > [Lance Armstrong won seven Tours, that's 147 days of racing, and he never had a puncture or a mechanical. You can really minimise your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-cavendish/lance-armstrong-won-seven-tours-that-s-147-days-of-racing-and-he/) [Mark Cavendish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-cavendish/) > [Fantastic truths perish slower... Sappho's moon will survive the moon of Armstrong. Different computations are necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/odysseas-elytis/fantastic-truths-perish-slower-sappho-s-moon-will-survive-the-moon-of/) [Odysseas Elytis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/odysseas-elytis/) > [I listened to King Oliver and I listened to Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, Archie Shepp... I listened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-clapton/i-listened-to-king-oliver-and-i-listened-to-louis-armstrong-jelly/) [Eric Clapton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-clapton/) > [I saw a guy wearing a "What Would Jesus Do?" bracelet and a Lance Armstrong bracelet, and he went up to this blind kid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tosh/i-saw-a-guy-wearing-a-what-would-jesus-do-bracelet-and-a-lance/) [Daniel Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tosh/) > [Then there are some minor points that strike me as suggestive - for instance, the position of Mrs. Hubbard's sponge bag, the name of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/then-there-are-some-minor-points-that-strike-me-as-suggestive-for/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [I went on a Buddha jag. I read 'Confession of a Buddhist Atheist' by Stephen Batchelor and Karen Armstrong's biography of Buddha, which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-o-hare/i-went-on-a-buddha-jag-i-read-confession-of-a-buddhist-atheist-by/) [Denis O'Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-o-hare/) > [ \[Louis Armstrong\] could play a trumpet like nobody else, then put it down and sing a song like no one else could. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-condon/louis-armstrong-could-play-a-trumpet-like-nobody-else-then-put-it/) [Eddie Condon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-condon/) > [Louis Armstrong is jazz. He represents what the music is all about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/louis-armstrong-is-jazz-he-represents-what-the-music-is-all-about/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [What we will have attained when Neil Armstrong steps down upon the moon is a completely new step in the evolution of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wernher-von-braun/what-we-will-have-attained-when-neil-armstrong-steps-down-upon-the/) [Wernher von Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wernher-von-braun/) > [I've never felt Truth was Beauty. Never. I've always felt that people can't take too much reality. I like being in Ingmar Bergman's world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/i-ve-never-felt-truth-was-beauty-never-i-ve-always-felt-that-people/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [If it weren't for greed, intolerance, hate, passion and murder, you would have no works of art, no great buildings, no medical science, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/if-it-weren-t-for-greed-intolerance-hate-passion-and-murder-you-would/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [Armstrong, sitting in the commander's seat, spacesuit on, helmet on, plugged into electrical and environmental umbilical's, is a man who is not only a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/armstrong-sitting-in-the-commander-s-seat-spacesuit-on-helmet-on/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [If you look at anyone who has achieved great success and wealth, people like Warren Buffett, Oprah Winfrey, or Lance Armstrong, they have all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/if-you-look-at-anyone-who-has-achieved-great-success-and-wealth/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) [Browse all 180 Armstrong quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/armstrong/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Almost a quarter of our planet is a single mountain range and we didn't enter it until after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin went to the moon. 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