We are beginning a countdown to the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing and walk on the moon. We'll be awash in nostalgia for the next week.
I wrote most of the following (with some edits, additions/updating, and combining) on July 19, 2009 and July 20, 2009. It was the 40th anniversary of the first landing on the moon.
Where was I when humankind landed on the moon? I was 16 when it happened.
I was in midtown Manhattan, with my Dad, at a space
exhibit. I had followed the space program from the moment I was old
enough to. I don't think I truly remember Sputnik, but I remember
our country shooting dogs and monkeys into space. I remember Telstar, I
remember being amazed at a trans oceanic broadcast of - The Today Show?
Then came the manned flights. In that day of no 24 hour news
channels, the early flights, only several hours long, were covered in
their entirety by the networks. They were big news items.
I
remember following all the manned flights leading up to Apollo 11 on
television. I was a great science fiction fan from around the age of
10, too, and it all tied in.
I took
lots of pictures at the exhibit.
I stayed up to watch Neil Armstrong
walk on the moon, along with millions of other Americans.
Why are we so fascinated by the First Moon Walk on this particular anniversary?
In 2009, I speculated that part of it was knowing that this may be the last 10-year anniversary where all
three astronauts of Apollo 11 may be alive? (after all, Neil Armstrong
was78). Now, in 2019, Neil has left us but Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, is still alive. A total of four men who walked on the moon are still with us. The youngest of them (Charles Duke) is 82 He was supposed to visit the place where I watched the Great American Eclipse in August of 2017 but we never saw him.
Is it a sense of what may have been (why did we abandon manned
space missions out to the moon and beyond?) Or is it because we have so
many Internet "toys"that allow us to follow the mission, minute by
minute, complete with astronaut updates on Twitter?
If only I knew where my photos
were, I would scan and post them on this blog. Yes, I took black and
white (of course!) photos of the TV screen at home. My Dad and I stayed
up late to watch Neil Armstrong take his first steps.
However I never thought of taking pictures of us watching TV. That would have been interesting.
What if we had had the Internet then? Well we could say that about any
time of history. Better in some ways that our memories are frozen in
those faded photos and home movies. No matter how dated they seem to
our children.
Eight months after the moon landing I would go on a trip with other
high school seniors to study a total solar eclipse on the grounds of
East Carolina University. (Greenville, North Carolina) I have been blessed - I have seen three total solar eclipses in my lifetime.
But who could have guessed what became of our space program? My son (in his late 20's) and I discussed this when we saw each other on the 4th of July.
Who would have thought the last moon landing would take place in December of 1972? Or that we would get to the point of needing to depend on the Russians (the country we were competing against in the "space race" to get into space?
I was in college when humankind last walked on the moon. Now I am a senior citizen.
We have self driving phones and computers that fit in the palms of our hands (aka smartphones) but we can't get to the moon.
What will it take to get a manned space program (not just to the International Space Station) truly started up again?
Welcome! I hope I bring a spot of calm and happiness into these uncertain times. I blog about flowers, gardening, my photography adventures, the importance of chocolate in a well lived life, or anything else on my mind.
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
6 comments:
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In the fall of 2016 I went to the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. Lots of activity there, lots of big plans being made. I hope they come to fruition.
ReplyDeleteLess talk, more action, way more money.
ReplyDeleteMy son went to Purdue, which is the alma mater of the greatest number of astronauts. I have pictures of both of my boys with the Neil Armstrong statue. There was actually a live feed at his graduation to 2 of the astronauts currently on the space station who had graduated from Purdue. Most interesting graduation I'd ever been to.
ReplyDeleteYou and I are one year apart.
ReplyDeleteJust graduated from HS, its 50th anniversary. It was a miracle.
It's been fascinating to watch all the docs that have come out. Did you see the Chasing the Moon one on American Experience (on PBS)? That one is really worth your time.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Buzz Aldrin is well. I haven't seen or heard much from him in a while. He would be all over this if he could be, I think.
Not so long ago, there was this thing on Twitter. Tell how old you are without using numbers or dates. I'm men-walking-on-the-moon years old. (Specifically Apollo 15.)
Hahaha. I have a younger sibling who was born in the hospital earlier that morning and brought home just as I watched the moon walk on Mother's friend's TV. Stayed to watch the astronauts, came home to see the baby.
ReplyDeleteTo preserve some suspense I'll not mention *which* sibling.