While most things that get posted on this blog are generally computer related, it's without a doubt that science is hardly something we should ever ignore. With that said, I think it's time for the second ever obituary to ever show itself on this blog. This time, it's to the ever amazing, Neil Armstrong.
When US President John F. Kennedy made a speech on May 25, 1961 to kick start the program to put a man on the moon, many people laughed and jeered. In fact, to this day, many people believe that the Apollo landings were nothing but a hoax, and that July 20, 1969 was nothing worth mentioning. However, for everyone else who believes that mankind has made the giant leap forward by landing on the moon, this was no hoax at all. It was very serious. Throughout all this time, it's without a doubt that space exploration was just starting and the big names such as John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth, Alan Shepard, first American in space, Edward White, first man to walk in space, weren't even known yet. At the time, there was no such thing as docking space craft, landing on unknown terrain...nothing.
Kennedy's speech was nonetheless a multi-staged taunt directed at the Soviets. First, America has more money. Second, America will conquer space before the Soviets, and lastly, and most important of all : America was better than the Soviet Union. With that in mind, a lot needs to be done. Mankind had no idea how humans behave or survive in space. They also have no idea how spacecraft will handle in space. Now that those questions needed to be answered, even more questions presented itself in the form of how humans and spacecraft will behave on the moon.
The next 10 years would be the biggest leap in technological advancement with regards to space travel. Not only were we to determine how best to get off Earth, how best to go around Earth, and we also had to figure out how best to keep something off of Earth and on the Moon. The next 10 years also saw many records being broken, two of which involved the great Neil Armstrong.
Neil Armstrong was a man who was nothing short of extraordinary. This may have been the defining quality that made him the best candidate for the missions he undertook. Armstrong's first spaceflight was the docking of 2 spacecraft in space. Being part of the Gemini program, Armstrong took his Gemini 8 and managed to dock with the unmanned Agena in orbit. The mission was unfortunately cut short, when the two craft began to roll uncontrollably. This was a great setback for Armstrong but that didn't stop him from trying for a second mission.
The mission that truly defined Armstrong's career was the Apollo mission to the moon. It was just slightly more than 8 years after Kennedy wanted to put a man on the moon, and Armstrong had done it. Along with the lesser known Buzz Aldrin, they successfully completed a series of tests on the Moon and established the superiority that Kennedy had wanted to show. All of this, in a span of 8 years.
It is without a doubt that a man like this is greatly revered. The first to manage something is always someone who is far more than just "someone" who had managed something new and unique. Only a handful of people could ever have the chance to leave Earth, and even then only 24 of them have ever made it to the Moon. However, despite these distinguished and unique things that Neil Armstrong had managed, there was one way to honour him as laid out by his family. They wish for nothing much, but if you look upon the moon, and it appears to smile at you, just think of the great and humble man who first landed there, and wink.
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