Anniversary of Apollo 11 Celebrated
By PAUL RECER, AP
WASHINGTON (AP) - The men of Apollo
11, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the first landing on the moon, credited the
competition of a space race with the Soviet Union for the success of America's lunar
program. Neil Armstrong, the Apollo 11 commander and the first man to walk on the
moon, Edwin ``Buzz'' Aldrin and Mike Collins said in a televised discussion that the
United States was pushed by competition from the Soviets to dare what seemed to some
impossible, to send men to the moon and return them safely to Earth by the end of the
1960s.
``I don't think we would have gone to the moon in the time that we did
without competition,'' said Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon. ``Competition got
us there in a hurry, but left us without a clear vision'' for future space activities.
Cooperation would have been preferred, said Armstrong, ``but in many cases,
competition is more effective.''
Collins, who stayed in lunar orbit aboard the Apollo 11 command ship
Columbia while his crewmates landed on the moon, said the Cold War race with the Soviets
provided the drive and speed of the moon effort.
``If you want a quick way of doing something, then you go the route of
competition,'' he said.
Just as the Cold War helped America win the space race, the space race
helped America win the Cold War, Armstrong said. Since then, Armstrong said,
astronauts have come to know many Soviet cosmonauts and have developed a respect ``like
you would have for players on the other team.''
The spacemen answered school
children's questions during the TV appearance, carried live on CNBC and NASA's internal
television network. It was part of a daylong celebration of the July 20, 1969 mission that
completed a multibillion dollar effort to put men on the moon. The celebration also
included the awarding of medals to the astronauts and a White House visit with President
Clinton. Asked if their mission changed their personal concept of God, the
astronauts spoke not of a supreme being, but of a renewed appreciation for nature's basic
design.
``It confirmed for me the notion that there is some order in the
universe,'' said Collins.
He said he was affected by the realization that in lunar orbit they were
so far from Earth that ``you could look out and (the Earth) was not there.... And when you
did find it, it was incredibly small,'' tiny enough to be covered by an extended thumb.
Armstrong said when their spacecraft streaked away from Earth toward the moon, ``It
confirmed for me that there was order in the universe. If that order did not exist, then
our mission would be for naught.''
After landing on the moon, Aldrin said, ``I took time and served myself
communion.'' The mission injected into his life a ``spiritual sense'' in the same way that
Albert Einstein had a spiritual sense, he said.
All three astronauts said they believe there is life beyond the Earth,
on planets around stars far, far beyond the moon. Given the ``gazillion'' stars in
the universe, Collins said, ``it is a bit arrogant to assume that our little sun off in a
corner of the universe would be the only one with life.'' ``Within 100 light years, there
should be abundant life,'' said Aldrin. ``There could be significant intelligent life in
our own galaxy.'' A light year is the distance light travels in one year, about 6 trillion
miles.
All three astronauts said they believed humans eventually would go to
Mars, but they made no predictions of when. Asked by a student if they were ever
scared during their mission, the men of Apollo 11 said they preferred other words.
``Scared, no. Worried, yes,'' said Collins.
``Apprehensive, yes,'' said Aldrin.
``With that much equipment, there was always something to go wrong,''
said Armstrong. ``Actually, I was more concerned that we would make a mistake that would
not let the mission go on.'' Asked about a report that a speechwriter for
then-President Nixon had prepared remarks for use in case Aldrin and Armstrong became
stranded on the moon, the astronauts said they would have expected that.
Aldrin said he felt there was better than a 90 percent chance of
survival, but he calculated only a 50 percent to 60 percent chance of a successful moon
landing. With those odds, he said, ``it is not surprising'' that a contingency statement
was prepared. If the moon walkers had been stranded, Collins would have been safe in
lunar orbit and the astronaut said he recognized that possibility.
``I didn't want to come home by myself, but if I had to, I would have,''
he said.
Earlier Tuesday, the Apollo 11 trio were given the Langley Gold Medal,
named for American aviation pioneer Samuel P. Langley, and praised by Vice President Al
Gore for an ``astonishing'' mission that united the nation during a time of great
division. Standing in the Air and Space Museum beside the Columbia spacecraft that
bears the scars of its scorching re-entry to Earth's atmosphere, Gore told the astronauts
that their voyage to the moon was not just a technical triumph, but also ``a journey of
the human heart.''
In 1969, said Gore, American was torn by assassinations, riots and
protests of the Vietnam War. For a time, Apollo 11 changed all that, he said.
``We came together, transfixed by the mission that you undertook,'' he
told the astronauts. ``Family and community came together to watch with fear and pride.''
Turning to Armstrong, Gore said the astronaut's first steps on the moon's Sea of
Tranquillity ``brought tranquillity to us here at home.''
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