Otherworldly event was a dream come true
Editor’s note: The Houston Post editorial below appeared July 22, 1969, two days after the historic moon landing. The piece captures the down-to-earth euphoria that the otherworldly event inspired. Man on the moon!
Jules Verne imagined it a century ago and, of course, Buck Rogers flirted with moon maidens and battled moon monsters on the comic pages and in the comic books of 20 years ago.
But now, incredibly, it has come about. Science fiction has become real life.
Millions of Americans, and other uncounted millions over the world, watched the whole fantastic Apollo 11 drama unfold and still could hardly believe their senses. The uncoupling of Columbia and Eagle — the command module and its bug-like offspring; the tense 12 minutes when the lunar module made its descent; the heart-stopping moments when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin hovered over threatening boulders of the Sea of Tranquility and then set their craft down in a perfect landing on a table-smooth surface, and then the final supreme drama of the moon walk itself.
EVEN THE CALM and imperturbable Armstrong could not conceal his excitement as he took his “one small step for man, one (giant) leap for mankind” and placed his foot on the lunar surface. His heartbeat increased to twice its normal rate, and the pulse of his earthbound audience quickened with his.
It was all so perfectly planned, so flawlessly executed, that mankind thrilled with pride that the human mind could conceive and carry out such an undertaking, and that human beings could dare such a feat. The only incongruity in NASA’s intricate script was to assume that the astronauts, or any mortal man, could sleep after making the lunar landing.
Now the unbelievable has been achieved, and Astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin have rejoined their faithful colleague, Michael Collins, and are on their way home, where a mighty welcome awaits.
ALL THE ADJECTIVES have been used to describe that glorious Sunday — historic, epic, memorable — but they seem inadequate to impart the true significance of the event. The 20th of July will be a date to be remembered and celebrated through all the years to come, not only by Americans but by men of all nations who admire courage and dedication and determination. It will be a Fourth of July, a Columbus Day and Thanksgiving all rolled into one.
President Nixon was right when he said that all the people in the world will be brought more closely together by the Apollo 11 mission. And if that is accomplished, it will be a most significant result of the dream come true.