We choose the Moon

(skip to 1’30″ for the good part!)

“There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation may never come again. But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain?
We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.” – JFK

Landing on the Moon is man’s greatest ever adventure. Think about it. Think about it. Go outside tonight and look up. Imagine yourself up there, looking down. Imagine! How would you feel? What magnificent desolation!

My own attempt to become an astronaut didn’t go very well. I think I’m a bit too hyperactive to sit still all the way to the moon. I’ve had to settle for watching the fabulous In the Shadow of the Moon. (I’ve pasted the trailer below).

When I wrote about my fascination with the moon before I said,

“These men are some of the only humans in history to have seen the Earth from space and their perspective makes for powerful viewing. Imagine, imagine, imagine (for imagine is all that we can do) blasting out of the atmosphere! Imagine travelling many times faster than a bullet. Imagine orbiting the Earth. Imagine standing on the moon! WOW. Boldness, courage, positivity, ingenuity and one heck of a big adventure.
After the film finished I crept outside and stared up at the moon. Wow.”

Go outside tonight, 40 years on, and say “wow”.

As part of the 40th anniversary celebrations this week you can “follow” a recreation of the Moon mission in real time here.
And, this being the year of the twit, you can follow the astronauts on Twitter as well.

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If you liked this post you might enjoy these too:

1. In the Shadow of the Moon
2. Feel the salt wind spitting in your face
3. Hunger and Night and the Stars
4. How to choose a challenge – and see it through