Man walks on Moon: 55 years later

Editor’s Note: This is the second of two articles from Kenneth Brandt on the Apollo missions. The first ran on page 1C in last week’s Robesonian. Find it online at Robesonian.com.

What are the lessons of Apollo? For Public Schools of Robeson County Superintendent Dr. Freddie Williamson, the lessons from Apollo began early.

“In his speech at Rice University, President Kenndy said ‘We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.’ That speech and the reality of the Moon landing has always motivated me not to run away from the hard challenges, but to face them head on. As educators, we choose to do this work, not because it is easy, but because it is hard and life changing.” The lessons of Apollo, and what we learned from our exploring represent the culmination of Kennedy’s challenge from 1962.

I’ll continue by having some of the Apollo astronauts explain:

“I was flabbergasted. I thought that when we went someplace they’d said, ‘Well congratulations, you Americans finally did it.’ And instead of that, unanimously, the reaction was, ‘We did it. We humans finally left this planet. We did it.’” — Michael Collins, Apollo 11.

“Since that time, I have not complained about the weather one single time. I’m glad there is weather. I’ve not complained about traffic, I’m glad there’s people around… boy we’re lucky to be here. Why do people complain about the earth? We are living in the Garden of Eden.” –Alan Bean, Apollo 12.

“I guess those of us who have been with NASA … kind of understand the tremendous excitement and thrills and celebrations and national pride that went with the Apollo program is just something you’re not going to create again, probably until we go to Mars.”– Alan Shepard, Apollo 14.

“We were true scientific explorers. We were looking at things that human beings had never seen before. Or if they’d seen them, they weren’t thinking about them in terms of understanding our earth, and our solar system, and indeed the universe.” – Harrison Schmit, Apollo 17.

“So, we’ve gone from covered wagons to going to the moon in just under 100 years. For all the centuries and thousands of years before us, people walked or rode horses, cows, camels or whatever. This so-called modern era, from the late 19th century through now, has been the period of the most amazing development, discovery, innovation and acceleration of change that humans have ever experienced. And it hasn’t slowed down yet.” – Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14.

Going to the Moon, exploring its surface, collecting its rocks. Such a seemingly simple thing has changed us for the better. Whether you like it or not, you can’t sit there and say that we are not all one planet, one species who has chosen to expand our horizon beyond what seemed possible unless you’re delusional. What follows are reflections on this point, again by the Apollo astronauts.

“That jewel of Earth was just hung up in the blackness of space. The only people that have seen the whole circle of the Earth are the 24 guys that went to the Moon.”– Charles Duke, Apollo 16.

“The valley of history has seen mankind complete its first evolutionary steps into the universe – leaving the planet earth and going forward into the universe.” – Gene Cernan, Apollo 17.

“I realized up there that our planet is not infinite. It’s fragile. That may not be obvious to a lot of folks, and it’s tough that people are fighting each other here on earth instead of trying to get together and live on this planet. We look pretty vulnerable in the darkness of space.” – Alan Shepard, Apollo 14.

“It truly is an oasis and we don’t take very good care of it. And I think the elevation of that awareness is a real contribution to, you know, saving the earth if you will.” – Dave Scott, Apollo 16.

“I really believe that if the political leaders of the world could see their planet from a distance of, let’s say 100,000 miles, their outlook would be fundamentally changed. The all-important border would be invisible, that noisy argument suddenly silenced.” — Michael Collins, Apollo11.

“You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. From out there on the Moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, ‘Look at that…” ― Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14.

We have many people in our community who remain children of Apollo. We happy few who were there, and saw what we saw. I challenge those of you of a certain age to tell that story to anyone who’ll listen.

The real lessons of Apollo are still being learned. In a real sense, the samples returned from the six missions are undergoing more tests, with newer equipment, and we are learning more about the Moon and how it formed. Much more important is the notion that we are actively exploring our solar system in unprecedented detail. One of the spinoffs of Apollo was the rise of the great unmanned spacecraft, five of which are starships. Nearing the conclusion of the Apollo program, money was channeled into development and launch of the Pioneer, Viking and Voyager missions. They taught us more about our place in the universe than 100 Apollo missions could have. Let’s consult a great American poet, Maya Angelou, who wrote “A Brave and Startling Truth,” after seeing the image of Earth from beyond Saturn’s orbit, on Feb. 14, 1990.

The image was ordered by project scientist Carl Sagan, after he had been reminded of the Earthrise images from Apollo. Angelou isn’t as kind as Sagan’s writings were on this, instead suggesting that there is serious work to be done “when we come to it….” You should read the poem, and then go work hard for peace.

Earlier, I mentioned the five starships. The USA has many things we can point to with pride. As I said in the last article, going to the moon may have been our very finest moment — a moment when half a million people, and an entire nation behind them, could put aside lesser differences and work together toward a major peaceful goal. Such a project hasn’t been endeavored since. But those starships, Pioneers 10 & 11, Voyagers 1 & 2, and New Horizons share one thing in common: they were all launched yards away from the spot where three Apollo astronauts gave their lives in pursuit of the loftiest of goals-in the United States. Mars beckons, and humans will go there. The big question is: whose flag will be flying there?