The richest person in the world, Elon Musk, has used these words frequently ad astra (“towards the stars”) as the inspiring motto of his company SpaceX, which is dedicated to space exploration. However, the full phrase had a slightly different meaning its creator, the Latin poet Virgilio, who included it in one of his works more than 500 years ago.
Musk was not the first to associate the phrase, in whole or in part, with the conquest of space. Already It was used to honor astronauts who lost their lives in the Apollo I tragedy, the beginning of NASA’s program that would take man to the moon for the first time.
On the other hand, with some modifications, it seems in the series Star Trekas the motto of Starfleet Academy, motivating recruits to do so face all sorts of adversity. It is precisely this deeper meaning that the expression has represented since its creation.
The same applies to questions of modern personal development, as the term resonates in contexts that require resilience, such as climate crises, pandemics or the overwhelming technological advances of artificial intelligence.
The Latin expression Sic itur ad astra, what does it mean “This is how you go to the stars” appears in the Aeneid by Virgil, exactly in Book IX, verse 641. There Apollo tells Ascanius or Iulus, the son of Aeneas Encourage him in his first exploits. In the book, the Trojans defend their camp against Turnus’ siege and the god Apollo intervenes to encourage Ascanius.
Then in the verse quoted, Apollo says these words after shooting down Numanus Remulus, an enemy leader, with his bow, praising his original virtue: “Keep your new virtue, boy, and you’ll go to the stars“.
This was Vergil’s way of highlighting this Courage and heroic virtue elevate a person to divine immortality or eternal glory. in an epic war context, according to the website Castilian poetry.
In other words: the expression summarizes the idea The path to greatness or immortality requires endurance and courageand that it is not an easy journey. Its mythological origin connects it with the epic attempt to overcome earthly obstacles.
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Then, Seneca the Younger made some variants of the original in expressions like non est ad astra mollis e terris via (“There is no easy path from Earth to the stars”) and vaa friantes como per aspera ad astra (“Through Difficulty to the Stars”).
These shapes were popularized in Renaissance emblems, such as that of Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora, and in military shields, as described on the website Latin and Rome.
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