Does Anyone Recall the Words of the 2nd Man on the Moon?
By now we are no doubt caught up in the much-deserved hype surrounding the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon expedition, happening this week.
Technology writers aren’t immune from this week’s moon euphoria, dare I say “lunacy,” either. I recently purchased at auction a 1mm x 1mm piece of the original kapton foil from the Apollo 11 command module.
Growing up in the late 1970s and 80s, I was raised in a world where humans had already set foot on a different celestial body. I can only imagine what it must have been like to watch it unfold live on television, John F. Kennedy’s moonshot realized.
And while Neil Armstrong may have been the first man on the moon, speaking the now-famous words, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” as he stepped off Eagle’s footpad, fellow astronaut Buzz Aldrin made a number of significant contributions as well.
Buzz Aldrin: Problem Solver
First, while Armstrong deftly piloted the lunar lander around some boulders, Aldrin continued to call out navigation data as Eagle made its descent. In the final seconds, Aldrin confirmed the indicator light showing that one of the probes from Eagle’s footpads was in contact with the surface.
