Posted:
12:11:58 on July 20 2001
By: Steve Krutzler
Dept: General Genre/SciFi
Today (Friday, July 20, 2001) is the 32nd anniversary of humankind's first
footsteps on another world.
On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin
piloted the lunar module "Eagle" to a landing on the surface of the moon. A
short time later, Neil Armstrong became the first human to walk on the moon.
Armstrong stepped onto the dusty surface of the Sea of Tranquility, declaring
it to be "One small step for [a] man," but "one giant leap for mankind."
The Apollo 11 lunar landing was the culmination of nearly a decade of
extraordinary effort by hundreds of thousands of people across the United
States and around the world. President John F. Kennedy, whose vision
inspired the United States to undertake this project, noted that "we set sail
on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights
to be won." Kennedy added that these rights "must be won and used for the
progress of all people." Project Apollo is regarded by many as humanity's
greatest engineering achievement of the 20th century. Although borne from
the Cold War of the early 1960s, the Apollo 11 landing craft carried a
plaque, signed by the crew, proclaiming that "We came in peace for all
mankind."
Thirty-two years after Armstrong's pioneering steps, humanity's exploration
of space continues with the construction of the International Space Station
Alpha in Earth orbit, and the robotic exploration of planets including Mars,
Jupiter, and Saturn. The Space Shuttle, which plays a crucial role in the
assembly and operation of the space station, is the direct technological
descendent of Apollo's Saturn boosters. Communications satellites are now a
multibillion dollar a year industry, and military surveillance satellites
have proven to be of vital importance in reducing global tensions. Earth
observation satellites provide valuable climate, resource, and weather
prediction information, while the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra
X-Ray Observatory explore the deepest reaches of the cosmos.
Thanks to Mike Okuda for sending this along.
