It has been almost five decades since mankind first landed on the Moon. Image Credit: NASA
Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong made history when they set foot on the lunar surface 48 years ago today.
When the Saturn V rocket carrying Apollo 11 and its crew first took off from the Kennedy Space Center on July 16th, 1969, the whole world watched with bated breath as three men took to the heavens on the most daring mission ever undertaken.
A mere four days later, Neil Armstrong emerged from the lunar lander, descended the ladder on the outside of the spacecraft and left the first ever footprints in the lunar soil as he uttered the immortal words "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
"It was an amazing time," said Professor Mark Robinson from Arizona State University. "Everybody was rooting for them all around the world, and everybody was watching."
"It was an amazing achievement, especially when you consider how fast it was done and how much technology had to be invented, and they just did it."
Coincidentally, if you click on the above link of the OP, for the untrained eye, the photo of the 3 Apollo 11 astronauts with the moon in the background is in fact a NASA studio photo production But Chinese whispers aside, this always goes down as one of my favorite days in history.
They will be recorded and somewhere on the internet. I didn't realise there were about a dozen or so moon walkers- obviously the public lost interest after the initial excitement. We all have pressing personal agendas.
True that! I ran a quick search and found the record ... brace yourself. The last words ever said were "..oh God, it looks like they're from.. (inaudible).. go, go, go, go, go...(static pause) ... .." end, though others remember muffled crying.... But, seriously, the last words are a story in themselves, and for anyone else who would like to know, this read is very interesting.. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/12/what-were-the-last-words-spoken-on-the-moon/266287/
Of course, there is this pretty telling photographic evidence that is was all a hoax. It is hard to argue with this:We are on to you NASA! http://pigeonsnest.co.uk/stuff/nasa-fakes-moon-landing.html
I remember watching the event on TV 'as it happened' (I know there was a short time delay in transmission). Seemed no reason to disbelieve it at the time and I haven't changed my mind. Just can't believe 48 years have passed so quickly.
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