Neil Armstrong breaks his silence to give accountants moon exclusive

Guardian UK ^ | 23 May 2012 | Alok Jha

[InvisibleChurch]

As the first person to walk on the moon, he is a man whose name will be remembered for generations to come. But one of the other well-known things about Neil Armstrong is that he hardly ever gives interviews.

It was therefore something of a coup for Alex Malley, chief executive of Certified Practicing Accountants of Australia, to secure almost an hour of Armstrong’s time to discuss the astronaut’s trip to the moon.

In the illuminating conversation posted online on the CPA Australia website, Armstrong revealed how he thought his mission, Apollo 11, only had a 50% chance of landing safely on the moon’s surface and said it was “sad” that the current US government’s ambitions for Nasa were so reduced compared with the achievements of the 1960s.

“Nasa has been one of the most successful public investments in motivating students to do well and achieve all they can achieve,” said Armstrong. “It’s sad that we are turning the programme in a direction where it will reduce the amount of motivation and stimulation it provides to young people.”

As a child, Armstrong said he had “become fascinated with the world of flight...

[saganite]

Is that you Ryan Newman?

[GraceG]

[ We’ve also got a craft near Vesta, and soon to be heading off to get a close look at Ceres — a minor planet (or dwarf or asteroid if you please) which may have more water than Earth has, and which can get as warm as forty below! That’s as warm as winter in Russia :) ]

Asteroid Gulag....

[stockpirate]

the problem is the socialists want to claim all the resources of space for the “people”.......

[hattend]

[tet68]

A little saying from the Gulag.

Kolyma, Kolyma
Amazing planet
Twelve months of winter
the rest is summer.

Kolyma was the northern gold field gulag.
In order to dig they had to first build fires
on the ground to thaw it out.
Death rate was very high.

[Do Not Make Fun Of His Ears]

>>A true American hero, but I am glad that we are getting out of the space business, it isn’t in the US Constitution for us to do this, so it needs to be turned over to the free market to explore space.<<

National defense is *definitely* in the Constitution, and don’t forget, this was key to the space program then, and could very well be key now.

Remember the Russians? Now it’s China and Iran.

That can’t be ignored.

[Do Not Make Fun Of His Ears]

>>I don’t like hero worship. Too much of it these days.<<

Is it that there is too much, or that people are picking the wrong “heroes”?

Audie Murphy, Ronald Reagan, Neil Armstrong, etc., were worthy heroes, aka good role models.

Today’s “heroes” are Snoop Dogg, Fiddy Cent, Kim Kardashian, etc.

Nothing wrong with having heroes. Just make sure they are the right kind.

[Do Not Make Fun Of His Ears]

So do you think all the lunar landings and splashdowns were faked? All the astronauts and every engineer in NASA is lying and no one has leaked the truth for over forty years?

Get real.

[Taylor42]

I always thought it would have been hilarious if he's of said... "Coca Cola", "I'd like a Budweiser" or.... "Man, I could've had a V-8".... frickin priceless.

You should research the words of Apollo 12 commander Pete Conrad when he stepped on the lunar surface. It starts with "Whoooopeee...".

[Fledermaus]

We weren’t in the “space business”. We were in the “ICBM development business”.

The rest was for propaganda purposes to get citizens on board.

[Skooz]

bfl

[Fledermaus]

A decent powered telescope on Earth can see the debri left on the moon.

[jrg]

Not for 40 years. But you have to realize, we were behind the 8 ball. The Russians, at the time, were ahead of us, and we had to do something spectacular.

I watched the original landing broadcast, and like all Americans at that time, fully believed our goober-mint. Now, at 55, I realize how easily we all could have been fooled AT THE TIME. I trust NOTHING from the goober-mint unless verified by some other source.
One day, we will know the truth, either when we go back, or when china or Japan does.
Our space program NOW, (or before O-zero raped it) is surpassed by none, and I hope to see, in my lifetime, at least a probe on europa to test for life.

[SaraJohnson]

NASA has also crossed over into Defense technology development. Of all our government does that is unconstitutional, NASA was something that could be justified as a part of Defense.

It was bound to die, though with globalism. The country is not permitted to be rah rah about anything these days because that is “nationalism.” What we pay for in technology is no longer to our people’s economic, training and job advantage - it’s all foreign now. Being a nothing “world” zaps motivation and spirit.

[doorgunner69]

As did a recent mapping satellite, sending back pics of the landers right where they should be. Will never satisfy some strange characters............

[TXnMA]

"A decent powered telescope on Earth can see the debri[s] left on the moon."

Post an image proving that.

Last time I checked, even with adaptive optics, that sort of resolution through the inconsistent atmosphere was not achievable. That's why we have the Hubble telescope...

Some lunar orbiting satellites have photographed Apollo artifacts on the moon, however -- as well as footprint tracks,

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks InvisibleChurch.

An “extra, extra” ping to the APoD list members.

[GrandJediMasterYoda]

50% chance they would land safely which means if they didn’t die from crashing, then they would have been stuck there forever and slowly suffocated. Talk about having balls of steel. Wonder how many people would take those odds.

[GrandJediMasterYoda]

That’s probably the best description of Obama I’ve ever read. Seriously, that’s ALL that putz has focused on since day 1. If this idiot wins reelection then that tells me this country was already doomed because it would mean there are more people who want to end this country then keep it which I can’t believe, which means he will lose his ass come November.

[2001convSVT]

Great photo, thanks. The horsepower to weight ratio helps to make the Bearcat one of the fastest and most nimbly propellers driven planes of all time.