Neil Armstrong passed away a week ago today at the age of 82. The first man to walk on the moon (as everyone ought to know- take to Twitter and you’ll find out differently), he will be remembered as one of the pioneers of aviation and the space program. His name will forever be linked with such legends as the Wright Brothers, Earhart, Gagarin, and Shepard.
With the loss of Armstrong, we’ve lost our last great frontiersman. We’ve explored the entire surface of our world. We’ve climbed to its tallest point, and have arrived at both ends of the Earth. Armstrong was the first man to walk on the surface of another world- and now there are only eight people still alive who can claim they’ve done the same. It is entirely possible that in a few years, there will be no one left who has walked on another planet or moon. When this happens, it will be a sad day indeed.
However, now is not the time for politicking the space program. It is a time of sorrow and remembrance for our great lunar hero, Neil Armstrong. He will be missed, but never forgotten.
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NBC News’ Cosmic Log has a list of ways Neil Armstrong is being remembered- and how you can help honor him, too
Worried about the situation mentioned at the end of the last paragraph? Don’t be. I looked at this in another blog post, and xkcd’s Randall Munroe went even deeper than I did. If we use 2030 as a reasonable ballpark figure to get to Mars, things are looking up.
