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Author
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Topic: What must it felt like to have walked on the Moon
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Apollo11cdr
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posted 10-20-2006 05:37 PM
   
I wonder what it must be like to be one of twelve men to have walked on the moon...I wonder how they must feel when they walk out in the evening..and see the Moon, it must be unreal..standing here and realising that you have actually walked on the surface of the Moon. !!! How could you not think about it every minute of very day ???? Being one of just 12 men.. out of all the billions of people who have lived to be just one of 12 men to go there... How would you deal with it..??? Has anyone asked the moonwalkers how they feel...when they look into the night sky and see the Moon ??? Any thoughts ??? A11 CDR |
ejectr
Member Posts: 1758
From: Killingly, CT
Registered: Mar 2002
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posted 10-20-2006 06:08 PM
.[Edited by ejectr (October 21, 2006).] |
fabfivefreddy
Member Posts: 1067
From: Leawood, Kansas USA
Registered: Oct 2003
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posted 10-20-2006 09:51 PM
This is a question that the astronauts get sick of hearing, as Collins states in "Carrying the Fire".
Andrew Chaikin's "A Man on the Moon" is a great starting point if you want to learn more about lunar exploration.
There is much written on this topic by the astronauts. Armstrong said simply "it's great" (to walk on the moon)- "I highly recommend it". Collins' book also discusses his thoughts in great detail. Reading these and many other astronaut books and magazines will give you plenty of idea of their thoughts. I am sure there are tons of great quotes from moonwalkers, maybe some cS members can recall some more. -Tahir |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 43576
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 10-20-2006 10:21 PM
Alan Bean contributed 1000 words to this subject. |
capoetc
Member Posts: 2178
From: McKinney TX (USA)
Registered: Aug 2005
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posted 10-21-2006 07:17 AM
I am reminded of Pete Conrad's stock answer to the question:"Great. Super. Really enjoyed it." ------------------
John Capobianco
Camden DE |
mjanovec
Member Posts: 3811
From: Midwest, USA
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 10-21-2006 09:35 AM
One thing that often is said by many of the moonwalkers was that they were just so darn busy during the EVAs that they never really had a chance to stop for a second and enjoy it. For many (especially Armstrong and Aldrin), it was over before they knew it.You'll find that many ex-astronauts seek adventure after they leave the corps, flying high performance aircraft, climbing mountains, going to the south pole, deep sea diving, etc. I don't think many of them sit around and think they've hit the pinnacle of their lives, like some assume they must do. They did something that brought them great fame, but they find other rewards in life just as fulfilling to them, whether it be seeking other adventure, raising their families, going into business, or whatever. |
star61
Member Posts: 294
From: Bristol UK
Registered: Jan 2005
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posted 10-22-2006 07:21 AM
Actually, having read many of the books by and about Apollo Astronauts, i still think the questions posed by "Apollo11cdr" are deeply interesting and still valid.
Picture this simple every day event, but you are Neil Armstrong. You pull up at a petrol pump , get out of the car pop the filler and start to gas up. There are other folk around doing the same, maybe one or two give you a sideways glance. Its early evening with light cloud and a deep blue sky. There, just coming into view from behind some cirrus is the Moon. Gosh! .......i've been there....i was the first human ever to walk up there!!! Look around you at the other people. There is no way i can explain how i feel right now! Neil is human. This must have happened. I try to put myself in this position when i catch a glimpse of the Moon at an unexpected moment. We will never know how it must feel. ...But we can imagine! Phil |
Apollo11cdr
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posted 10-22-2006 01:02 PM
Phil,Exactly.. These guys ..look into the night sky see the Moon in all its glory..how can they fail to reminisce and feel the unique bond that they share with the Moon. You are one of only 12 people to have shared this momentous experience. How can you ever feel the same when you return. How can you ever think about doing other things..it must be so overwhelming ..well it would be for me. !! I wonder how it must feel at the autograph shows ...a few moonwalkers in one room..they are the only 1 or 2 people there who have any inlkling of what it is really like to have stood where they once stood...on the lunar surface.. how do you live with that...???? they must feel very special and overwhelmed A11cdr |
fabfivefreddy
Member Posts: 1067
From: Leawood, Kansas USA
Registered: Oct 2003
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posted 10-22-2006 01:52 PM
Honestly, from the extensive reading I've done on Neil Armstrong's life, I must disagree with the "gas pumping scenario". I don't think Neil has such emotions about being the "first guy on the moon".
He is definitely different from some of the other moonwalkers. He does not place himself in the limelight and consistently downplays the role he played. He does not have an ego the way many feel he might because of what he did.
This personality quality does exist in the world, and I think it is what creates greatness in some ways.
Of course, only Armstrong knows how he feels, but there is much written by and about him to refute the assertions written here. -Tahir
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star61
Member Posts: 294
From: Bristol UK
Registered: Jan 2005
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posted 10-22-2006 03:20 PM
My point was that Neil Armstrong, like any other human could not possibly hope to convey what it feels like to have stood on another world. Hence, responses such as, "really great". We know they must feel very lucky and priviledged, but ego has nothing to do with it. I still maintain that the above scenario must have happened to Neil and the other 11 at some point in the last 37yrs. I have , as i said, read many books by and about the astros. Even if they were poets, it would still be an impossible task to really get over what only 12 men out of 100billion who have ever lived, actually did. And what did they do?
They stood on another world!!! Phil |
ejectr
Member Posts: 1758
From: Killingly, CT
Registered: Mar 2002
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posted 10-22-2006 03:43 PM
There was a thread way back in the existence of collect SPACE somewhere I remember reading that went something like this.This guy worked with and knew John Young when he worked in the astronaut office. John and he had just left the Shuttle simulator where John had done a few simulated landings after hours. It was after dark as they strolled to John's car and talked along the way. Just as John was unlocking and getting into his car, he looked up at the moon that was shining above and quietly said..."we don't do that anymore". So judging from that, I do believe there are times when they look up, see the moon and have their own thoughts. [Edited by ejectr (October 22, 2006).] |
FFrench
Member Posts: 3165
From: San Diego
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 10-22-2006 03:56 PM
'A11cdr' and Phil, if you haven't already, I think you might enjoy reading this book.[Edited by FFrench (October 22, 2006).] |
MarylandSpace
Member Posts: 1353
From:
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted 10-22-2006 04:18 PM
Think how happy it made Mr. Gorsky. . . |
Duke Of URL
Member Posts: 1316
From: Syracuse, NY
Registered: Jan 2005
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posted 10-22-2006 11:34 PM
Well, James Brown was doing the Moonwalk back in 1964 (I know because I saw him do it) and he said he felt like he wanted to stay on the scene like a lovin' machine.
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spaceman1953
Member Posts: 953
From: South Bend, IN
Registered: Apr 2002
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posted 10-23-2006 05:46 PM
quote:
Originally posted by capoetc:
I am reminded of Pete Conrad's stock answer to the question:"Great. Super. Really enjoyed it."
Must've been written by the same NASA PR peep that wrote "Happy, Thrilled and Proud" for the wives ! (and, yes, I know I don't have that quote right !) GB |
Paul78zephyr
Member Posts: 678
From: Hudson, MA
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 10-25-2006 12:27 PM
In 'Apollo: The Epic Journey To The Moon' by David West Reynolds the afterward is titled "Landfall" and is written by Gene Cernan:"I am a marked man. One cannot behold all the lands and seas of the Earth in a single glance and remain unchanged by the experience. Returning to Earth from the Moon poses the challenge of finding a perspective within yourself that can encompass what has happened to you, that can accomodate the matters of ordinary life as well as the memory of having looked into the endlessness of space and time from another world. I once stood upon the dust of the Moon and looked up, struggling to comprehend the enormity of the message that we found in Apollo..." I have always found this passage to be very inspiring. Paul |
SVaughan
Member Posts: 42
From: Toronto, Canada
Registered: Aug 2006
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posted 10-25-2006 02:00 PM
When I was 12 years old, for a school project I interviewed one of the Apollo astronauts who had been to the moon. I asked him what he thought when he looked up at the moon on a clear night. He told me that the moon he saw from earth and the moon he had orbited some 14-odd years earlier were not one and the same. He said that the moon he saw on a clear night was still the moon of his childhood. |
John K. Rochester
Member Posts: 1292
From: Rochester, NY, USA
Registered: Mar 2002
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posted 10-25-2006 02:31 PM
I only know what it feels like to them from what I've read..But when I really take the time to stand there and gaze up at the moon I always imagine what it could have felt like to explore another world, even one as desolate as the lunar surface. Knowing that of all the bazillions of people who have ever lived on this earth, I belong to a fraternity of 12. " For all the people who live on that green and blue ball..there is no difficulty they cannot overcome..no solution they cannot grasp..no distance they cannot travel. Me standing in the valley of Taurus-Littrow..is proof of that." |
pmbasta
Member Posts: 11
From: Santa Monica, CA, USA
Registered: Nov 2006
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posted 11-09-2006 09:21 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Apollo11cdr:
I wonder what it must be like to be one of twelve men to have walked on the moon...
We ask this very question - knowing how it is has been asked so many times, to our seven Apollo moonwalking astronauts in a nearly completed new film "The Wonder of it All". There are a few more indepth answers to this question that might satisfy you. I'm sure all of you folks that frequent this site will be informed as to the release of our film: hopefully you will find it worthy.[Edited by pmbasta (November 09, 2006).] |
Apollo11cdr
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posted 11-09-2006 06:14 PM
HiGreat looking film..I am looking forward to it...really am !!! Sorry Dave Scott wouldnt appear..dont know why Neil Armstrong wouldnt.???? I have met both and greater people you will not find... Not on film ..but found Neil more pleasant and humourous than I expected... and who can ever take his place..or beat that first !!! Sadly no-one... Look forward to Project Orion...but nothing will beat Apollo, or its participants ..werent you all so glad to have seen what we saw in the days of 1969 - 1972. Will never be beaten..never....
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Moonwalker1954
Member Posts: 246
From: Montreal, Canada
Registered: Jul 2004
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posted 11-10-2006 05:46 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Apollo11cdr:
Look forward to Project Orion...but nothing will beat Apollo, or its participants ..werent you all so glad to have seen what we saw in the days of 1969 - 1972. Will never be beaten..never....
I agree 100%. We saw history in the making! Pierre-Yves |
dss65
Member Posts: 1171
From: Sandpoint, ID, USA
Registered: Mar 2003
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posted 11-11-2006 02:11 PM
Wouldn't have missed it for the world. To untold generations before us, the thought of a trip to the moon was pure fantasy--and many believed it would forever be that way, beyond our reach for eternity. I doubt that those who have come since can fully appreciate that "reality". How many people died imagining this feat--even setting the groundwork for it--but having no hope at all of actually seeing it happen? I feel immensely priviledged to have been in a generation that experienced the overlap.------------------
Don |
Saturn V
Member Posts: 176
From: Golden, Colorado, USA
Registered: Nov 2006
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posted 11-13-2006 11:37 AM
I only hope I live long enough to get my Spacecraft Films DVD of "Man walking on Mars" 
And yes, I feel very priviledge to have been alive - 6 years old - when man walked on the moon. To me back then, it seemed like man could do anything he wanted to do and I was never "suprised" to see any of it on TV. Now that I am older I understand what an achievment it was.[Edited by Saturn V (November 13, 2006).] |
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