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If you believed they put a man on the moon
Sad news this weekend that US astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon, has died aged 82. A statement from his family says he died from complications from heart surgery he had earlier this month.
He set foot on the Moon on 20 July 1969, famously describing the event as “one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind”.
There have been many conspiracy theories that continue to circulate including:
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Maintaining that NASA and others knowingly misled the public into believing the landings happened by manufacturing, destroying, or tampering with evidence; including photos, telemetry tapes, transmissions, rock samples, and even some key witnesses.
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Speculation that NASA faked the first landing in 1969 in order to win the Space Race.
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Claims that the landings helped the US government because they were a popular distraction from the Vietnam War; and so manned landings suddenly ended about the same time that the US ended its role in the Vietnam War.
This is despite the fact that since the late 2000’s, high-definition photos taken by the LROC spacecraft of the Apollo landing sites have captured the lander modules and the tracks left by the astronauts. Then, earlier this year, images were released showing the Apollo flags still standing on the lunar surface.
In their statement following his death the Armstrong’s family spoke of a man who never lost his “boyhood wonder” at the pursuits of aviation and spaceflight, adding: “For those who may ask what they can do to honour Neil, we have a simple request. Honour his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.” Twitter was of course quick to respond with the hashtag #WinkAtTheMoon trending worldwide.
Despite his incredible accomplishment of being the first man to walk on solid ground somewhere other than Earth, he seemed to be extremely down to earth. I think my favourite quote from him was, when revealing publicly his initial concerns about the Apollo 11 mission, when he had believed there was only a 50% chance of landing on the moon, his statement “I was elated, ecstatic and extremely surprised that we were successful.” This from a man who had the ultimate bragging rights. May he rest in peace, dreaming [for the first time apparently] of “Walking on the Moon”.
Bad Korea move
Most people thought that the problems we might face in holding the Olympics would be something to do with security or traffic delays. No-one could have imagined what would actually be the first embarrassment of the London2012 games!
Last night, at Hampden Park in Glasgow, what can only be described as a “schoolboy error” occurred when bungling officials displayed the WRONG Korean flag!
NORTH Korea’s women footballers stormed off the pitch in fury when a giant screen showed the SOUTH Korean flag instead. The emblem of their bitter enemies was flashed up on the big screen as they came out to warm up for their match against Colombia.
The North Koreans — fanatical supporters of dead leader Kim Jong Il and his son Kim Jong Un — refused to take to the field for the 7.45pm kick-off. Organisers said there was an “off-the-field” dispute they were trying to resolve and the game was delayed for over an hour as officials tried to placate the North Koreans. The game finally began at 8.50pm after the correct flag was shown on the screen.
London 2012 bosses were forced to issue an apology. A spokesman said: “The South Korean flag was shown on a big screen video package instead of the North Korean flag. Clearly that is a mistake, we will apologise to the team and the National Olympic Committee and steps will be taken to ensure this does not happen again.”
But there is something else that is bothering me about the Games themselves. If the opening ceremony is not on until Friday, why have the games started already? Answers on a postcard please!
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