Apollo 11

I was born in 1969, about two months after Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. My whole life, the moon exploration file has sat in the outbox of humanity’s To-Do list.

My generation, and those brilliant if cocky Gen Ys and Zs who’ve followed, have all grown up in a world where we believe anything is possible, and not just because of all those sneakers ads. The theme of the JFK-inspired lunar program, as evidenced by those famous Armstrong words upon touching the lunar surface, was all about a giant leap for mankind.

In truth, NASA’s lunar conquest was more about asserting American superiority in a world then divided by an invisible iron curtain, than it was about the potential of the human race as a whole. All the same, the latter message lives on today. We can do anything. All of us. America’s moon landing was everyone’s moon landing, and for that, we have Armstrong to thank.

Continue reading "The search for meaning in the space after Armstrong" »

Earlier this week I was banging on about what a shame it is that nobody much cared about the space program anymore.

So this morning, at the risk of sounding like some kind of space obsessed nut, I was thrilled to see NASA release this new footage of the moon landing to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission.

What is even better about this story is that NASA had to borrow four video tapes of the landing from around the world after taping over their original footage.

Continue reading "Did you need that moment in history? I taped the cricket" »