Neil Armstrong sidesteps Moon debate at Apollo 11 reunion

The Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong shied away from a public clash of opinion with his two former crewmates last night, quietly failing to join their calls for America to re-examine its controversial plans to send astronauts back to the Moon.

Sidestepping the debate as to whether Nasa is wasting time and resources on revisiting the lunar surface before launching more ambitious voyages to Mars and beyond, Mr Armstrong instead reflected on the history of the space race as the three reunited to mark the 40th anniversary of their mission.

Delivering the annual John H.Glenn lecture at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, Mr Armstrong joined Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins in addressing a “who’s who” of aviation dignitaries.

But while his crewmates used the opportunity to deliver feisty calls for America to rethink its lunar ambitions and set its sights on loftier goals, Mr Armstrong – who is said to favour Nasa’s plan for establishing a manned base on the Moon before venturing beyond – stepped more cautiously.

“History is a sequence of random events and unpredictable choices, which is why the future is so difficult to foresee,” he said, adding with a wry smile perhaps intended for his Apollo 11 colleagues sitting in the front row: “But you can try”.


Mr Armstrong, 79, received a standing ovation as he took the stage from notables including the new head of Nasa, Major General Charles Bolden, the crew of space shuttle mission STS-125 that repaired the Hubble Space Telescope in May, and what organisers called the “largest gathering of Apollo astronauts for years”.

In a sometimes cerebral address whose subtext appeared to be a call for more international partnership in space, the first man on the Moon reminisced on the evolution of rocket science and how America’s race to beat the Soviet Union to the Moon drove his and Aldrin’s successful landing on the Sea of Tranquility on July 20, 1969.
“It was the ultimate peaceful competition, USA versus USSR. While not a cert that it was a diversion that prevented war, nevertheless it was a diversion, it was intense, and it allowed both sides to take the high road with the objectives of science and learning and exploration,” he said.

“Eventually it provided a mechanism for engendering co-operation between former adversaries. In that sense, among others, it was an excellent national investment for both sides.”

Mr Aldrin, 79, who began his address with a plug for his website and poured forth a range of futuristic visions for human space exploration, took a less measured approach, calling for America “to boldly go on a great new mission of exploration”.

“Four decades have passed since Neil, Mike and I passed across the blackness of space to win a race,” he said.

“This time instead of a Moon race we can try to make the Moon a true stepping-stone to more exciting and habitable destinations….if we persevere, we can reach Mars itself before 2035,” he said, adding: “Isn’t it time that we continued our journey outwards, past the Moon?”

He added: “The greatest challenge for us is this: America, do we still dream great dreams, do we still believe in ourselves, are we ready for a great national challenge. I call on the next government and our political leaders to give this answer: 'Yes we can, yes we can'.”

Michael Collins, 78, used his time at the podium to call for man to treat Earth better, and for improved environmental and economic controls, and to warn that humankind needs to move off the planet if it is to survive long-term – and that the next destination should be Mars.

“Sometimes I think I flew to the wrong place,” he said, saying that he worried that the current emphasis on returning to the Moon would delay the exploration of Mars by decades.

Tough problems littered the path to Mars, he ceded, “but I don’t see a showstopper that can’t be solved”.

He added: “I’d like to see Mars become the focus, just as John F. Kennedy focused on the Moon.”