LUNAR WALK: Aldrin and
Armstrong spent 2 1/2 hours on the moon
July 20, 1969
"One Giant Leap for Mankind"
By Douglas Brinkley
Neil
Armstrong meant to say "That's one small step for a man," adapting the
phrase from a children's playground game. Instead, because of intense
radio static, Mission Control in Houston—and the rest of
mankind—heard, "That's one small step for ... man, one giant leap
for mankind," which became one of the most famous sentences of the 20th
century. If the audio failed, the images were indelible, as a camera
mounted on the base of the lunar-landing vehicle beamed back the other-
worldly milestone. Ohio-born Armstrong, then 38, had become the first
earthling on the moon. He was almost immediately followed by Colonel
Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin, who helped plant a U.S. flag, signifying to all the
world that America had won the race that had begun 12 years earlier with
the launch of the Soviet Union's Sputnik.
There were three reasons
that Armstrong—a naval aviator in the Korean War who had flown 78
combat missions—became the first to step on the moon. He had
returned to civilian life, and the Nixon Administration, mired in the
Vietnam War, did not want a commissioned officer "militarizing" space.
Second, his reticent manner was considered ideal for coping with the
demands of celebrityhood. Third, and most practical, as mission
commander he was physically closer to the hatch of the Eagle and had to
be the first out. Since Armstrong was assigned to handle the camera,
most of the pictures from that famous mission are of Aldrin, with
Armstrong seen only as a reflection on the colonel's helmet. With
Michael Collins, who piloted the command module above them, the
astronauts of Apollo 11 became latter-day Lindberghs, receiving
parades and honors in 22 countries. Twelve other men would walk on the
moon, the last in 1972.
Douglas Brinkley is a professor of
history at the University of New Orleans who interviewed Neil Armstrong
for a NASA oral history project
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