Now 80 years old, the first man to walk on the moon rarely gives interviews, but he entered the Red Bulletin's orbit at Hangar-7, the spectacular aeronautical venue at Salzburg Airport in Austria, to talk about in-flight nerves (none) and out-of-this-world experiences (many).
What was going through your mind on that July day in 1969 when you landed on the moon?
“Well, the first thing I was surprised at was the fact that we had landed. And it was a feeling of great satisfaction, because about 400,000 people had worked for a decade to put us in this spot we were in, and I felt a great sense of appreciation for all those people who had made it possible for me to be there.”
So you weren’t worried at all?
“I think what occurred to me more than anything else was that this would be a very poor time to make a mistake. We knew that going into space was going to be accompanied by some risks, and we accepted that – that was part of the price of progress. And so, I think we were not afraid of the risk we were taking, rather we were afraid of failure. We were afraid of making mistakes, but there was nobody who was concerned about the risks in my recollection. We concentrated on trying to do the perfect job. the question was, is the possible increase in human knowledge worth the investment that includes a certain amount of risk and I thought, ‘Yeah, this could lead to real increases in knowledge and benefit all humanity.’ It was worth the investment of all our effort, perhaps our lives.”
How special do you feel, having done what you’ve done?
“It was nice to have the accolades of the public. First it was in the news, then it was in the science departments of the we wouldn’t make the end of the decade, so the pressure was there. When we would get into discussions – let’s call them discussions where people didn’t agree on every point and there was a bit of arguing going on – someone would stand up and say, ‘And what is it that we’re trying to do here?’ And someone would say, ‘End of the decade.’ And that usually ended the arguing.”
'There is about 14 million square miles of the moon's surface we haven’t touched yet' – Neil Armstrong
Was beating the Russians a motivating factor, too?
“We were very aware of the level of competition. The Soviets had made remarkable progress in unmanned craft, interplanetary probes and human spaceflight: the Americans were well behind. but we were challenged to try to catch up and we did so aggressively, and over the years we narrowed the gap. It really wasn’t until the actual lunar competition that we turned even and finally we were fortunate enough to get a landing before Alexei [Leonov, the first man to walk in space and the leading Russian cosmonaut of his time]. It was a great competition and we had great respect for each other. Then after the first lunar landings we worked together, during the Cold War. There were a few things done in the arts, but I think the most significant approaches to peace between our countries was our combined efforts in space.”
Six years after your landing, in July 1975, a Russian and an American spacecraft docked in orbit...
“I believe that handshake between Alexei, commanding the Soyuz, and Tom Stafford, commanding the Apollo, was one of the most important benefits of the space age and a historical highlight that will never be exceeded. I congratulate them both.”
What did it actually feel like when you were on the lunar surface?
“Lunar gravity is much nicer than earth’s gravity. You feel very light, very comfortable; it’s very easy to walk. You can jump very high. If you had a house there, you wouldn’t need to have stairs in it because you could just hop from one floor up to the next. The temperature is over 100°C, though, so you need an air-conditioned suit.”
Do you think mankind should walk in your footsteps?
“I believe that we should go back to the moon. I’d like us to go back. We’ve gone to six places on the surface on the moon, and there is about 14 million square miles we haven’t touched yet…
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