Blogocentric Formulations

Man on the Moon

"Blogging Circle of Friends "  | Day 3556 Prompt ▼

On July 20, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon after reaching its surface in their Apollo 11 lunar module. Did you see the coverage on television? Were you excited to see a man on the moon?

On July 20, 1969, my mom and dad were 16 and 18, respectively. They wouldn't meet for another few years, wouldn't get married until 1975, and I didn't come along until 1981... so no, I definitely did not see the coverage of the moon landing on television as it was happening.

Had I been alive at the time, I imagine I would have been glued to the television with rapt attention. Space exploration and the possibilities of what might be out there in our own solar system, let alone galaxy, let alone the whole big universe have always been something that have resonated with me, and I have a feeling that seeing that first "small step for man, giant leap for mankind" would have been something that, to me, hinted at endless possibilities going forward.

I wonder what I would have thought at the time if, after the amazement and wonder of that accomplishment in 1969, I had known that the next humans to set foot on the moon would be Apollo 17's Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt just a few years later in 1972... and then that would be the last visit to the moon (let alone anywhere else beyond the International Space Station) by any human being for at least the next fifty years, I think I would have been really surprised and more than a little disappointed. For a lot of us, I imagine the accomplishment of putting a person on the moon was the first of what would be a long line of accomplishments in space, and the idea that it could have instead been a high water mark or the pinnacle of what we could accomplish in space would probably be pretty disappointing.

As someone who thinks the idea of space exploration and interstellar travel are fascinating and something that I hope will one day become a reality, I think seeing a man land on the moon would be a revelation. But as that same person who thinks the idea of space exploration and interstellar travel are fascinating and something that I hope will one day before a reality, I think I'd also be all the more disappointed by the lack of progress we've made since.


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