Friday, July 17, 2009
Our Moon Landing Memories Are 40 Years Old!
Do you remember where you were when the pictures of Neil Armstrong taking his first steps on the surface of the moon were beamed back to Earth?
I was babysitting my younger cousins. The television was on, but I was the only one watching. With 3 rambunctious urchins bouncing around on the sofa behind me, I sat on the ottoman in front of the TV, transfixed by what I was seeing. I clearly remember those fuzzy images on July 20, 1969, when Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong emerged from the lunar module, taking “one small step for man” in the Sea of Tranquility—that history-making “giant leap for mankind.”
It was something the average person never thought they’d see outside of a sci-fi movie. But the thrill seemed to wear off so soon. With NASA sending off mission after mission to study the moon, I don’t remember hearing much about the 6 additional landings that took place. I’m sure I’m not the only person who didn’t realize that in the 3 years following Apollo 11’s milestone, 24 more real-live American spacemen traveled to the moon, 12 actually walked on its surface, and 3 made the trip twice! In fact, the Apollo 13 failed moon landing captured our attention only when we discovered the 3 astronauts aboard were perilously close to not making it back to Earth. But we all know how that turned out!
So here it is, 40 years later; and with all the scientific, engineering and technological advances made around the world, no other country has managed to accomplish what the U.S. accomplished between 1969 and 1972. Pretty impressive, isn’t it? You might even say it’s “out of this world!”
posted by Betty at
3:23 PM
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