Michelle in MO Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 (edited) Forty years ago today, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon! Check out Google search today---their search engine commemorates this historic event. I remember that we saved the newspaper from that day (which has since been lost :) ) I also remember how thrilled I was to watch the moon landing on a color TV. Michelle (who is old enough to remember black and white TV!) (who is also so old that she couldn't remember whether it had been 40 or 50 years, but since I'm not 50 yet, it must have been 40 years! ;) ) Anyone else want to share their thoughts and memories regarding this event? Edited July 21, 2009 by Michelle in MO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 That was a quick edit. :D You are smooth!! I need to call my brother. He thinks the moon landing was faked, and this will be a good day to pester him. :lol: I grew up in Armstrong's hometown, with his grandparents visiting us in school each year and a summer festival in his honor. I even was in the "Young Astronaut's Program" at the Armstrong museum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Anyone else want to share their thoughts and memories regarding this event? My mother was a farm girl who was totally fascinated by the space program so my earliest "news" memory is that of John Glenn circling the earth in his Mercury spacecraft. Guess that indicates I am old! Anyway, we watched and read all about the Gemini and Apollo missions. I wrote to NASA and was sent an autographed photo of some astronauts. But truly the lunar landing was exciting. The entire family gathered around the television set to watch the coverage, all with a sense of nervousness and excitement. Those were heady days--we as Americans seemed able to accomplish any engineering feat. Why do people seem so cynical today? Jane (who watched the events on a black and white television) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 But it was 40 years ago YESTERDAY! July 20, 1969. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 (edited) But it was 40 years ago YESTERDAY! July 20, 1969. The landing was July 20; the walk was July 21. ETA: Well, I guess it depends on where you were on earth, LOL. Most use GMT, but Americans say July 20. Edited July 21, 2009 by angela in ohio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 The landing was July 20; the walk was July 21.I suppose that depends on where you live in the world. In the Americas, Neil Armstrong first stepped on the moon July 20, 1969. Agreed that in Europe, Africa, Australia and Asia the moon walk occurred on July 21, 1969. Of course in Asia and Australia, the landing also occurred on July 21, 1969. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 I need to call my brother. He thinks the moon landing was faked, and this will be a good day to pester him. :lol: Ever watch Mythbusters? Their entire show last night was on rebutting the moon walk doubters. They came down on the side of NASA in each test. It was quite interesting. Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Anyone else want to share their thoughts and memories regarding this event?I DO remember that night, but I'm a little embarrassed to tell what I remember... My brother was almost nine at the time and I was five. He woke me up at 9:00 PM to go and watch the moon walk on the television. I got up and went into the living room and then promptly fell asleep again, so I did not see the historic event. I've always kind of regretted that I slept through it, but I was REALLY sleepy! :D So I will say that I slept in front of the TV during the historic moon walk broadcast? :blushing: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle in MO Posted July 21, 2009 Author Share Posted July 21, 2009 That was a quick edit. :D You are smooth!! I need to call my brother. He thinks the moon landing was faked, and this will be a good day to pester him. :lol: in the nick of time! I wrote down 50 at first, then my sleep-deprived brain remembered that I wasn't even 50 yet---then remembered it was 40. I get the dunderhead award for the day! I read that Whoopi Goldberg of "The View" also questioned the moon landing. It looked pretty real to me! But truly the lunar landing was exciting. The entire family gathered around the television set to watch the coverage, all with a sense of nervousness and excitement. Those were heady days--we as Americans seemed able to accomplish any engineering feat. Why do people seem so cynical today? Jane (who watched the events on a black and white television) We did the same thing, only it was at my cousins' house. I can't remember if we had color TV at the time, but we watched the landing on their TV, which was color. It was fascinating! If you've ever seen the movie "Apollo 13" and how the gathering at Jim Lovell's house all sat around to watch the landing, that's what it was like at my cousin's house that day---their larger family (5 kids) and ours (2 kids) plus the parents, aunts and uncles, and grandparents---everyone stopped to watch the landing. Ever watch Mythbusters? Their entire show last night was on rebutting the moon walk doubters. They came down on the side of NASA in each test. It was quite interesting. Terri Now that would have been interesting to see. I can't imagine how it was faked, but then I've never studied the theories. I do remember buying a moon rock at some point in time (which, I suppose if one believes the conspiracy theories, those could have been a fake, or brought in to Earth from an unmanned mission to the Moon). As an aside, a small town nearby us opened a space museum; not very large, but we were there for the opening day. The owner of the museum, who had collected space memorabilia for years, brought in the brother of Gus Grissom, who spoke about his brother's life. It was very interesting. Gus Grissom died in the launch pad fire on one of the first Gemini missions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 I almost 21 months old, and I distinctly remember watching it at my great grandparents' house. I must have been told it was very important, and so committed it to memory, because I don't remember anything else from that age. I can even tell you where everyone was sitting in the room. Until my kids studied this last year, I'd always assumed I was older, at least 2, when I saw it--I didn't realize it was in July. No one else can confirm my recollection, but this is what I've thought for 40 years, so that's my story, and I'm stickin' to it. Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikeBookBread Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Such a turning point in history. I have been trying to interest my girls. It is hard to pique their interest when in their world it is "commonplace" to see a man on the moon? I wonder if there will ever be another moment of "wide eyed wonder" and scientific astonishment for our society ever again-- unless they discover a Star Fleet outpost somewhere on Jupiter or something! :tongue_smilie:I am sure there will be another moment, but we are just such a jaded society now. It is hard to imagine. KWIM?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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