Nasa
20 July 2019 • WAR cry • FEATURE 3 Astronaut Buzz Aldrin poses for a photo beside the US flag
e h m t r o e o v n O Emily Bright looks back on mankind’s giant leap 50 years ago
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xiting the Apollo 11 mission spacecraft, astronaut Neil Armstrong bounced across the lunar landscape in humankind’s first moonwalk. As he achieved this astronomical feat 50 years ago, his words were heard back on planet Earth: ‘One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.’ After taking off from Kennedy Space Center on 16 July, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins travelled 240,000 miles within 76 hours. Four days after blast-off, the lunar module Eagle separated from the spacecraft manned by Michael. A little more than two hours after that, Neil and Buzz landed on the moon. A television camera strapped to the craft beamed back images. When the astronauts planted an American flag on the moon’s surface, they sent a clear message to their Russian rivals that the US was no longer trailing behind them in the Cold War space race.
Former president John F. Kennedy’s pledge to land a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s had become a reality. The astronauts all returned home safely, landing in the Pacific Ocean on 24 July 1969. In the UK, the present Astronomer Royal, Lord Rees, watched the broadcast of the moon landing as a young
It was the precursor of many space projects Cambridge researcher. He tells the War Cry: ‘I watched the same rather grainy black-and-white TV pictures as many millions did around the world. It was a wonderful experience.’ He reflects that the moon landing was a remarkable feat, paving the way for the satellite technology that we still use today. ‘Nasa’s computing power was less than you probably have in your pocket today in a smartphone. And a lot of the equipment was, of course, untested. So it was an extremely risky
project at that time. ‘It was the precursor of many space projects. As an astronomer, I’ve been excited by the unmanned probes that have sent back all the pictures of Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and their moons. In our Milky Way galaxy, there are probably many, many millions of planets rather like the Earth, orbiting other stars like the sun.’ The beautiful complexity of our cosmos has astounded people for centuries. Whether we’re expert astronomers or are just awed by looking up at the night sky, we can all grasp the beauty of the universe. The Bible writer David experienced similar wonder, saying: ‘The celestial realms announce God’s glory; the skies testify of his hands’ great work’ (Psalm 19:1 The Voice). David revelled in the majesty of the skies above because he felt it reflected the glorious goodness of God, who cares and provides for people. Like all of us, David had his flaws, yet he looked to God for the strength he needed for the times that were tough and others that were out of this world. Sometimes we can feel light years away from the life we wish to lead. We struggle with our relationships, financial worries or career. But if we gravitate towards God, he will help us launch into a new era of our lives. All we need to do is take one small step and walk towards him.