Neil Armstrong is one small man, who leaves behind a legacy of exploration

“That’s one small step for man. One giant leap for mankind.” Ever since he used that expression to describe the achievement. Neil Armstrong has become immortalised as one of the most iconic figures in modern history. Lauded as an All American hero, he remained unusually solitary and remote, rarely giving interviews focusing instead on his career and work. Armstrong’s recent passing once again brought back (with a burning flame) moon landing conspiracy theorists to once again come forth with venom to dismiss the moon landing as a hoax. For all the claims these people make, Armstrong denies it being a staged hoax. In the interviews given, his answers were too lucidly detailed, honesty too forthright, with the stories he told about travelling through space too honest and truthful to raise any suspicion. Dismissing Armstrong as a liar or fraud is merely tall poppy syndrome. He remains an iconic figure and deservedly so.

During a speech to Congress in 1961, United States President John F. Kennedy said one goal to achieve before the end of the decade is “To put a man on the moon and return him safely to Earth before the end of the 1960s.” http://www.space.com/11774-jfk-speech-moon-exploration-kennedy-congress-50years.html With fierce competition in space exploration coming from Cold War rivals United Soviet Socialist Republic, the pressure was on the Nation Aeronautics and Space Administration to develop infrastructure, ground control and refine the Apollo Spaceship technology enough to successfully ensure a safe trip to the moon. NASA largely recruited Astronauts from the Defence Forces, inviting pilots, senior officers, as well as anyone willing enough to put their name forth. From the men who signed along the dotted line was a test pilot, Neil Alden Armstrong. After ten Apollo space voyages to determine all the technical aspects required from ground control alongside the working astronauts in Space, Apollo 11 was finally ready to be established. On July 16, 1969, Neil Armstrong, alongside Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin, and Michael Collins piloted man’s first official trip to the moon.

After speaking those famous words, Neil Armstrong, alongside Buzz Aldrin walked around on the moon, jumped up and down in elation, drove a lunar vehicle around in addition to collecting samples of moon rocks. A pity for the cheese lovers though, who received nothing for their unwavering devotion. Those rock samples are a major dent to the conspiracy theorists. All collected samples were tested and confirmed to have been ‘non-earthly’ to put it plainly. The astronauts were welcomed back as heroes, with each man’s life forever changed by their achievement. Media outlets were raring to get interviews from each man, so that millions of interested people could know what exactly it felt like to be on the moon. “How did it feel?” “What was it like being so far away from earth?” “Were you scared?” People vicariously began to experience the sensations of being a moon walker themselves through the masterful story telling from Armstrong. Do not think that all the fame and glamour of being a national hero turned Armstrong into a gregarious go getter. “I am, and always will be, a white socks, pocket-protector nerdy engineer,” he says.
To farewell the first man on the moon is indeed very sad. Armstrong spoke with passion and conviction. He was not someone who minced his words, always giving an account which was accurately detailed, yet simple enough for everyone to relate to. He became a reluctant hero yet carried it with a grace and elegance many people could not handle. In the Defence Forces they tell you that two the two cardinal sins in the military are putting yourself ahead of your unit and lying. Armstrong was no liar. What did he stand to gain from repeatedly lying to the American public about the moon landing? To this day, every myth put forth by conspiracy theorists has been discredited or proven false. A more prominent testing of moon landing hoax theories have been conducted by Mythbusters Adam Savage and Jamie Heinemann. In conjunction with NASA, they disproved the theories of the flapping flag, the alleged fake pictures, and the clear footprints left by Armstrong and Aldrin. A recent photo has also been released by NASA shown below confirms that the material left behind still rests safely.

Neil Armstrong was an asset to the world, an honest man brave enough to venture into the unknown to help further man’s understanding of the solar system and universe. He went on to achieve many more great things in his life but will always be remembered as the first man to walk on the moon. Goodbye Mr. Armstrong and thank you for inspiring a generation of people to challenge their own boundaries, to pursue their dreams. Above all, thank you for creating a general interest in space exploration, which is now extending out to the other planets in the solar system.