40 years after the astronauts of the space shuttle Apollo 11 captured the nation's imagination with the first moon landing, government officials are questioning whether human space exploration is still worth the price.

Sending humans to the moon costs the government billions of dollars and NASA and the Obama administration are considering the use of robots instead.

While more than 500 million people watched the moon landing on July 20, 1969, some analysts say that the public enthusiasm and the government funding for sending humans to space is no longer there.

In this video, NewsHour correspondent Ray Suarez reports from the National Air and Space Museum on the 40th anniversary of the moon landing.

"Two people who represent humanity are here on the surface of the moon. What a magnificent tribute this is to the progression, to the achievement of humanity, and yet, as we do that, I can't think of a more lifeless place than I've ever seen and subconsciously realizing that what we're looking at had been unchanged probably for hundreds of thousands of years." - Buzz Aldrin, astronaut

"It showed us what we are capable of accomplishing when we work together. It was probably the most profound group achievement in human history. It was absolutely spectacular, 400,000 people working for the better part of a decade to accomplish something that seemed like science fiction." - Andrew Chaikin, author

"I hate to boil it down to money, but, frankly, money is the driver, as is most everything else." - Norman Augustine, Human Space Flight Committee chair

1. When was the first moon landing? Why was it important?

2. Who are Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong?

1. 500 million people around the world watched the moon landing in 1969. Why was the moon landing so important to so many people?

2. Why do you think that there might be less enthusiasm for space exploration today?

3. How much do you think space exploration is worth? What do you think about the argument that we should focus on problems here on Earth?

4. Have you ever thought about being an astronaut? Why or why not?