Remembering the Apollo 11 Mission: Landing on the Moon

Fifty years ago this Saturday, on June 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon, one of the greatest triumphs in human history.  Michael Collins, the often forgotten third member of the Apollo 11 crew, remained in the Command Module, continued in orbit around the moon, watched and listened hoping that all would be ok, knowing there was a strong chance of a disastrous descent, and that if so, he would be the loneliest man in the universe and have to return by himself, likely forever remembered as the one who left two crew members behind.  Engineers gathered in NASA's Houston Control room also watched and listened with bated breath, along with Walter Cronkite and other news anchors, and people around the globe, who huddled around televisions and radios pulling for success.  It was a day the world became one human family pulling for "our" success.

The 50th anniversary of this human achievement has inspired the Chasing the Moon series on PBS, the movie First Man, along with newspaper and journal articles.  Evidently, NASA made it look easier than it was. It could have easily been a disaster, as another Russian moon launch had failed exploding at launch on July 3rd, just thirteen days before.  During the descent an alarmed went off and no one knew what it indicated for many long seconds.  Evidently the Lunar Module's computer was reporting an "executive overload," overwhelmed with data and automatically shut down low priority functions.  In the meantime, Armstrong and Aldrin waited for instructions from Houston, and finally got direction to proceed.  Meanwhile, their descent over shot their planned target and they were approaching hugh boulders.  Armstrong manually maneuvered the Eagle Lunar Module by the boulders and landed with NO extra fuel, than what was needed for their lift off return.  When Armstrong's voice came crackling through that "The Eagle has landed," there was a long pause!  Finally, a voice from Houston Command Center replied, "Roger, Tranquility. We copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue.  We're breathing again."  

This was one of those events, like the assassination of President John F. Kennedy or the terrorist attacks on 9/11, one remembers where you were and what you were doing at the time you learned of it.  I was in third grade in November 1963 and in class when Mr. Miller, the principal, stepped into the room and announced the president had been shot in Dallas.  I was sitting at my church office desk on September 11, 2001, working on the worship bulletin when I got a telephone call from Chris Pfund whose girlfriend worked in the building next to the twin towers.  When "we" landed on the moon, I was fourteen years old camping in northwest Colorado at a campground along the Green River with my parents and sister.  We were on a month long vacation in the west.  My sister was seventeen and pining over her boyfriend back home who she was forced to leave behind.  We had just turned to head home after visiting Zion and Bryce National Parks, and had just toured the Dinosaur National Monument nearby seeing the imbedded fossils from millions of years ago.  Unlike the billion or so others from around the world who watched on TV, we listened to this historic event unfold on a transistor radio, which my dad had set it up on the picnic table at our campsite.  I write "we" above, because when Armstrong and Aldrin landed, the whole human race vicariously landed with them, watching and listening and praying with bated breath.  This was "our" human achievement and story.

If you are old enough, where were you when "we" landed on the moon?  What are your memories?  This coming Sunday at worship we will take time to share our memories. 

We still stand in awe and wonder at this human achievement.  So many things had to go just right for a successful landing and mission.  And so many things threatened to turn triumph into disaster.  This was an era when people began questioning the existence of God.  Time magazine published its iconic April 8th, 1966 issue with the question, "Is God Died?" on the cover.  Our human ingenuity, including the mathematical wizardry of the black women human computers NASA employed, is rightly celebrated.  However, I get the sense that no astronaut who sat on the top of those Mercury, Gemini, and humongous Apollo rockets discounted the notion of a divine power.  Their spouses and children along with people around the world prayed earnestly for their safe return.  The later Apollo 13 mission was aborted when an electrical explosion damaged the oxygen.  Their safe return was also a NASA triumph.  But I suppose they all said a prayer, "Thank you, God!"  when they splashed down and the hatch was opened.  In both instances, there were so many things that worked out, which could just as easily spelled disaster, but didn't.

So I'm giving the providence of God and nod of awe and wonder, too!  Scientific research has taken away so many mystery inducing awe and wonder beliefs held by our predecessors.  As one learns the story behind the story of the Apollo mission, one's gratitude for their surviving hair raising close calls and split second differences required for success, keep my awe and wonder intact.  My God is still an awesome God with wonders to perform.  Thanks be to God!