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Neil Armstrong’s death prompts yearning for America’s past glories.

Neil Armstrong’s death prompts yearning for America’s past glories

Paul Harris in Tampa 27 August, 2012

The death of Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, has led to mourning for a twentieth century icon, and also to questions about America’s national destiny. Many people paid tribute to the former astronaut. But others expressed regret that no human has been back to the moon since 1972, just three years after Armstrong set foot on it and gave his famous “giant leap for mankind” speech.

Elliot Pulham, Chief Executive of the Space Foundation, criticized the lack of support for America’s space agency NASA, compared with the vast resources given to the moon landings programme in the 1960s. “In this age of timid exploration goals and tiny NASA budgets, Armstrong is a reminder of what our nation was once capable of,” he said. Pulham said the real-life drama of Armstrong’s moon landing – watched by a fifth of the world’s population – was unlikely to be repeated. He said: “In an age when Hollywood and professional sports create so-called ‘heroes’, Armstrong … was the real deal.”

Armstrong died aged 82 following heart problems after surgery in early August. His recovery seemed to be going well, and his death was a surprise to many. A statement released by his family gave few details, but spoke of a “reluctant American hero” and said: “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.”

Speaking from the White House, Barack Obama said Armstrong was “among the greatest of American heroes – not just of his time, but of all time”. He added: “And when Neil set foot on the surface of the moon for the first time, he delivered a moment of human achievement that will never be forgotten.”

Armstrong’s crew member on Apollo 11 and the second man to walk on the moon, Buzz Aldrin, said he was “deeply saddened” by the loss of his good friend and companion.

“Whenever I look at the moon I am reminded of that precious moment, over four decades ago, when Neil and I stood on the desolate, barren, but beautiful, Sea of Tranquillity,” he said in a statement. “Looking back at our brilliant blue planet Earth hanging in the darkness of space, I realized that even though we were farther away from Earth than two humans had ever been, we were not alone. Almost the entire world took that memorable journey with us. I know I am joined by many millions of others from around the world when I mourn the passing of a true American hero and the best pilot I ever knew. My friend Neil took the small step but giant leap that changed the world and will forever be remembered as a historic moment in human history.”

In the US, there was a sense that he represented the achievement of a past age of American greatness. Many remembered John F Kennedy’s 1961 speech when he set the target of putting a man on the moon. Armstrong seemed to symbolize that dream of a national goal, rather than the current situation, which has seen NASA cancel many missions because of budget squeezes.

Former astronaut Eugene Cernan, the last man on the moon, said Kennedy “challenged us to do something people thought was impossible. Neil was the focus of that … He did something that people thought was impossible.” Others complained about the state of the US. “Today it takes longer to get a budget through both houses of Congress than it took to send a man into orbit,” wrote journalist Andrew Pasternak. “The time it took to rebuild lower Manhattan after 9/11 … will be longer than it took to build an entire space program and send a man to the moon.”

Of course, NASA has its modern triumphs. Its engineers have landed a nuclear-powered robot on Mars. The robot is designed to spend years on the Martian surface. Another Mars mission has also just been announced – it involves a Lander designed to drill below the planet’s surface. But these achievements do not even come close to matching the excitement of Armstrong’s success. NASA administrator Charles Bolden expressed that in his statement of tribute. “As we enter this next era of space exploration, we are standing on the shoulders of Neil Armstrong,” he said.

It seems that Armstrong shared the sense of disappointment at NASA’s reduced ambitions. Eric Berger, who runs the SciGuy science blog, said he had been forwarded an email that Armstrong and other former astronauts had sent to each other. It expressed frustration at the current problems at NASA and quoted Yogi Berra, an American baseball legend: “If you don’t know where you are going, you might not get there.”