One Moment — 650 million viewers
July 21st 1969
21st July 1969. I was eleven years old.
For several days before the 21st my Grandad and I had been glued to the television screen in my grandparent’s house in Smethwick, West Midlands, England.
Whilst my Nan busied herself in the kitchen occasionally popping in to get an update on the event we were watching unfold.
My Nan, Grandad and myself were joined by 650 million eager and excited people worldwide watching as Neil Armstrong placed his footprint on the Moon’s surface.
What an achievement.
Although it’s a little difficult to put aside the political and economic context of this achievement there is no denying that the Apollo 11 Moon Landing as a key moment in recent history.
It’s a shame that as a race we often fail to build on the creative and adventurous wave that spread from such events. There is a tendency to seek to undermine such achievements with retrospective rhetoric. Such detractors often miss the point, as do those who seek to justify space exploration in terms of the “spin-offs” like Velcro!
The “thing” that drew the collective attention of 650 million people was the recognition that something incredible was being attempted.
