When I was a kid I was always fascinated by anything having to do with space. I would always build lego space shuttles. And I would read anything I could about planets and astronomy. So this week when I had a chance to take my twins to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum to see Neil Armstrong's space suit that he wore on the moon I could not pass up the opportunity. There was also an Apollo 50 festival on the National Mall with really cool exhibits by NASA scientists about things like the International Space Station and a future mission to Mars.
Today is the 50th anniversary of the Moon Landing. It's really incredible to think about how they were able to successfully land on the moon with the technology they had back then. To even dream it took incredible vision, and when President Kennedy spoke in September 1962 about landing a man on the moon within the decade I wonder how many people believed that this vision would come true less than 7 years later. JFK knew it wouldn't be easy. He even said that "we do these things not because they are easy but because they are hard." But when you have a dream and are willing to do whatever it takes to make it a reality nothing can stop you.
Everyone is familiar with Armstrong's famous line: "that's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind." But it is something else he once said that really resonates with me. Reflecting on that moment on the moon Armstrong later recalled, "it suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet earth. I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very very small."
Just 7 months earlier the Apollo 8 mission was the 1st to successfully orbit the moon. It was a crucial step, especially after the tragedy of Apollo 1 in which 3 astronauts were killed in a training fire. The Apollo 8 crew read from Breishit ("In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth...") and took the 1st photo of the earthrise over the moon. One of the crew, Bill Anders, said "We came to explore the moon and what we discovered was the Earth." He reflected, "This is not a very big place, why can't we get along?"
50 years ago today the world sat riveted at their TV sets, seeing something happen they never thought possible. On the one hand there is a tremendous lesson about the greatness of man. When we work together we can achieve amazing things. And on the other hand it is a reminder that we all share this home called earth, and that despite differences of politics, religion, language, and geography, we are all united.
Most of the time we focus on ourselves and the small step we take. But every once in a while we are reminded of the giant leaps we can take not only for ourselves but for all mankind.
