On 20th July 1969, the human race reached the pinnacle of its development to date when Neil Armstrong and 'Buzz' Aldrin landed on the Moon, the first time in human history that a man had walked on another world.
The enormity of this achievement has probably faded over time but what the 'Apollo' programme achieved was truly astonishing. With technology that today would probably only ever be seen in museums, the astronauts put their lives on the line; some, most memorably the crew of Apollo 1, lost their lives in pursuit of the goal of landing a man on the Moon before the end of the 1960s. Virgil 'Gus' Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee never even made it off of the launch pad as their capsule caught fire during a practice run. Nonetheless, after a lengthy pause, the programme continued and 12 men eventually did walk on the Moon; Armstrong was the first and, inevitably, the most famous. His death yesterday reminds us just how little we have moved on in the intervening 43 years since that amazing day in 1969.
Those who knew Neil Armstrong say without hesitation or dissent that he was a fine man, modest and humble in all his dealings. That a man who was so iconic, and will remain so for centuries to come, could attract such universal admiration says more about him than I possibly could.
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