Forty years ago the first human being set foot upon another celestial body. This is the cultural significance of Apollo 11’s mission that has endured the decades. It is its political significance that has since declined into irrelevance with the fall of the Soviet Union. We can easily forget that forty years ago the Americans were hoping to make a political statement in their drive to reach the moon first: the triumph of capitalism over socialism. This arena of the Cold War known as the Space Race at least avoided the bloodshed, the human sacrifice and controversy of the Vietnam War, despite the great financial expense involved. It was embraced by an American people who were inspired by President Kennedy’s promise to land a man on the moon before the end of 1969 and “do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard”. However, the Apollo missions ended abruptly in 1972 after six successful moon landings when America’s scientific supremacy was proven and the political will to finance further manned space exploration dissipated. The Apollo missions were ahead of their time in that without the political rivalry that existed, the pace of technological development would have been more relaxed and fewer risks would have been taken in order to place a man on the moon. The British astronomer Patrick Moore – whose lunar maps were used by NASA to choose landing sites – had predicted many years ago that the first human landing on the moon would not occur until the 1980s, his only substantial error in a prophetic list of space firsts. This perhaps indicates the extent to which America’s manned space program was accelerated, and explains why after 40 years Apollo still remains the (isolated) pinnacle of achievement in this field.
Of the three-man Apollo 11 crew one never walked on the surface of the moon: Michael Collins. Yet his contribution to the mission goes beyond the role of astronaut. Collins was directly responsible for the design of the Apollo 11 mission insignia after Jim Lovell mentioned to him the idea of the American eagle. Collins traced a picture from National Geographic and depicted it swooping over the surface of the moon with a gibbous Earth in the background. In reality that eagle could not fly through a vacuum, if it didn’t explode due to the lack of pressure then its bloated carcass would be suffocating on the surface. As a symbol of patriotism and an American icon it is a superior choice to the American flag, which would have been overtly political. An olive branch was added to its talons to tone down the aggressive connotations of a bird of prey. Unlike later Apollo insignias, the names of the astronauts were not included so as to reflect the fact that many people had made important contributions to the mission overall.
Over the past week ITV news has had an extra 10 minute news feature presenting the Apollo 11 mission as if it were happening today. The use of modern CG graphics doesn’t seem out of place for such a historical event (though the slightly rehearsed feel does). NASA have also being streaming communication audio in real-time on their website. Tributes such as these are important. In their attention to detail they help to create a sense of the anticipation that built up over the week-long journey to the moon. They are more than the marking of an anniversary, but a greater attempt to communicate to people like me what it must have been like to be alive in 1969, to have been drip-fed information unfolding day by day, awaiting one of the most significant scientific and cultural events of the twentieth century.
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