Lisp Propulsion Laboratory log

Paolo Amoroso's weblog. Main interests: Lisp, astronomy (Moon), space exploration (Apollo and early manned programs)

Calendar of past entries | Related links

When humanity was bold and dreamed new worlds

Thursday, July 20, 2006

This is an invitation to stop for a moment your busy Lisp coding and think that on this day, 37 years ago, man first set foot on another world. On July 20, 1969 Apollo 11 Commander Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the Moon.

The next time you see the Moon in the sky, remember that there was a time when man was bold enough to walk there. In 1969 NASA launched 4 manned space missions (Apollo 9, Apollo 10, Apollo 11 and Apollo 12), 3 of which to the Moon (Apollo 10, Apollo 11 and Apollo 12; the latter 2 were landing missions). Now NASA is struggling with the Space Shuttle and the completion of the International Space Station in low Earth orbit.

To remember Apollo, rush to Kipp Teague's incredible Project Apollo Archive site, and check the image gallery with thousands of high quality Apollo pictures.

I also highly recommend the book First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James Hansen, which is the astronaut's only authorized biography. Hansen did a terrific research job, the book is a wide open window on an impenetrable man.