Apollo 11

Optional soundtrack: Apollo mission voices; AD, piano & processing    

Forty years ago, with the Apollo 11 mission, human beings landed for the first time on our lunar satellite, the Moon.

I remember that my family was traveling that summer, to visit friends in Canada and Minnesota. We drove up through the Upper Peninsula from Ann Arbor, went on to Winnipeg in Manitoba, then returned via the Twin Cities. I remember following the Apollo 11 news on the TV and radio as we traveled. We were in Minneapolis when the LEM lifted off from the lunar surface, to return to the Command Module, and begin the return journey to Earth.





I remember talking about the importance of the lunar landing with family and friends. I've always been a space buff, and I still am. I believe we have to get off our planet, and spread out a bit. We need to expand our minds and souls by expanding our physical horizons. We need to leave the womb, if only to return to the soil in the end.





Forty years ago, an importance event in space exploration took place. It captured our imaginations, and our hopes and fears. It made us more than we are. It gave us hope for our long-term survival asa species.

We need to go on from there, now more than ever.



Images and sounds courtesy of NASA.