One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind

This month marks the 50th anniversary since the historic Apollo 11 space mission to the Moon on 16th July 1969.

Whether you're a believer or not, this week is celebrated as the moment humanity first touched the Moon 50 years ago - completing a mission that is perhaps the most ambitious and greatest achievement of mankind.

Many listeners on RUSC will remember the day vividly. The mission united the world as it watched, and although the golden age of radio was over in 1969, prior to the Moon Landing, man, woman and child were already absolutely fascinated with space travel, the Moon's influence on the planet and tides, superstitions, and other mystical wonderings, and that's reflected in just how many radio shows you can find on RUSC if you search for the keywords Moon, Lunar or Space. 

But why did we even attempt to go to the Moon? I mean, it's a really, really long way away, right?! 

Well, back then, we were in a 'Space Race' with the Soviet space programme, battling each other to get to a range of different milestones - so although there was never really any one justification, it was only a mere 250,000 miles away, so were could and therefore should. Interestingly, the last person to step foot on the Moon, was in December 1972. No human has ever ventured there - or even outside of low-Earth orbit - ever since. 

But let's go back to that day in July 1969, when the three astronauts in Apollo 11 set off. They were basically sat in a small capsule on top of the Saturn V rocket, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever made. That rocket is what got them out of the Earth's powerful gravity and up into space, and after flying for three days, they entered lunar orbit.

The capsule is what carried them to the Moon and back, but it was actually made up of three parts. It was the lunar module which made its way to the Moon's surface, after detaching from the rest and touching down on the ground.

On 20th July 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped out of the lander and became the first people to ever walk on the Moon. After exploring the environment, leaving behind sensors, and collecting Moon rock samples, they climbed back into the ascent stage of the lunar module and flew back up to attach to the main capsule, which was being piloted by their colleague Michael Collins, to begin the journey home.

After more than eight days in space, they returned to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24th crashed back down to Earth, completing their mission successfully, and were hailed as heroes.

There's one old time radio show in particular which I always remember when I think of the Moon Landing, and that's from Theater Five, called First Encounter. Just under five years before Neil Armstrong took the first step on the moon came this radio story about man's first steps on the lunar landscape. It's classic Science Fiction, reminiscent of shows such as X-Minus One or Dimension X, and well worth a listen on the anniversary of the Apollo 11 space mission.

Happy listening my friends,