Happy Lunar Landing Day!

MoonwalkToday–July 20th–back in 1969 was the day man first walked on the moon. (Unless you’re one of those folks who thinks it was all fake, like in that thar Capricorn One movie.)

Neil Armstrong was supposed to say "That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind," but as the tapes reveal, he actually said "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind"–which makes no sense.

It’s always been a comfort to me that the first words spoken by a human being on another celestial body were a blown line.

Should help keep us humble in the face of such achievements.

GET THE STORY.

Y’know . . . I’ve always thought that a Saturn V rocket looks rather a lot like a tower. Now where have I heard something about towers to heavens and confusion of tongues before . . . ?

Author: Jimmy Akin

Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live."

12 thoughts on “Happy Lunar Landing Day!”

  1. Supreme irony that James Doohan (“Scotty,” Star Trek) died today on the anniversary of the lunar landing. May he rest in peace.

  4. Unless you’re one of those folks who thinks it was all fake
    I know someone like this, and apparently she is completely serious too.

  7. We are big fans of the series “Moon Shot”, a documentary adaptation of the book by Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton.
    It is effectively narrated by Barry Corbin (I’m not an astronaut, but I play one on T.V… ) and gives alot of cool background on the run up to Apollo 11.
    I well remember watching the landing on television with my family. Exciting stuff. The shuttle launches just don’t have that kind of emotional weight.

  8. Tim J, perhaps. I’m a little young to have experienced it. I can only reflect on a Shuttle launch and it’s quite rewarding. Plenty of co-workers haven’t recovered from their “high” from Deep Impact yet.
    I have yet to see “Moon Shot”. I’ll have to stick that on my todo list.

  9. Don’t get me wrong, I am a space nut, even for an unmanned probe. It’s just that the moon shot was such a wild adventure, especially given the technology of the time. Everyone was caught up in it. The shuttle, by comparison, is more utilitarian.

  10. I was born in 1968, so I was alive for all the moon landings, but I remember only the last three. They are some of my very earliest memories — what a blessing a three or four-year-old boy could receive, to have as his first memories the sight of the Apollo moon landings and astronauts zipping over the moon’s hills in a lunar rover!

  11. Actually, the first words spoken from the surface of the moon were: “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.” They’re about the most incredible words I’ve ever heard.

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