[dramatic music]
- HEY, WELCOME TO "NASA LAUNCHPAD."
I'M YOUR HOST, TOM SHORTRIDGE.
SO CAN YOU BELIEVE IT'S REALLY BEEN 40 YEARS
SINCE THE FIRST HUMAN WALKED ON THE MOON?
THAT'S RIGHT; JULY 20th,
10:56 P.M. EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, 1969,
NEIL ARMSTRONG STEPPED OFF THE LADDER OF THE LUNAR MODULE
AND SAID THOSE FAMOUS WORDS...
- THAT'S ONE SMALL STEP FOR A MAN,
ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND.
- I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING: THAT WAS 40 YEARS AGO.
YOU PROBABLY WEREN'T EVEN BORN YET.
I WASN'T EVEN BORN YET.
WE HAVEN'T KNOWN LIFE
WHEN THERE WEREN'T PEOPLE GOING INTO SPACE.
I MEAN, THINK ABOUT IT.
WE'VE ALWAYS HAD CELL PHONES AROUND.
WE'VE ALWAYS HAD DIGITAL MUSIC, CDs, MP3 PLAYERS.
WE'VE ALWAYS HAD PERSONAL COMPUTERS.
WE'VE ALWAYS HAD THE INTERNET,
WHERE WE CAN GO LEARN EVERYTHING ABOUT ANYTHING.
AND YOU KNOW WHAT?
I THINK THE MAJORITY OF US TAKE IT FOR GRANTED.
WE'VE GOT ALL THIS STUFF RIGHT AT OUR FINGERTIPS,
BUT WE NEVER REALLY THINK ABOUT HOW IT ALL CAME TO BE,
HOW MANY PEOPLE SPENT HOW MANY HOURS THINKING IT UP,
DESIGNING IT, BUILDING IT, TESTING IT.
SO LET'S NOT TAKE IT FOR GRANTED ANYMORE.
AND LET'S START BY TALKING ABOUT APOLLO.
IN 1961, WHEN PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY
ANNOUNCED HIS SUPPORT OF THE APOLLO PROGRAM,
ONLY ONE AMERICAN HAD EVEN FLOWN IN SPACE,
AND WE HADN'T EVEN SENT SOMEONE INTO ORBIT YET.
SO IMAGINE YOUR TEACHER JUST ASSIGNED YOU A HUGE PROJECT,
ONE THAT NO ONE'S EVER DONE BEFORE.
SO YOU CAN'T ASK SOMEONE FOR HELP
OR GO ON THE INTERNET AND LOOK IT UP.
YOU HAVE TO LEARN EVERYTHING FROM SCRATCH,
DO ALL THE RESEARCH YOURSELF.
OH, AND YOUR DEADLINE'S IN A COUPLE WEEKS.
IMAGINE THE PRESSURE ON YOU IN THAT SITUATION
AND MULTIPLY IT BY ABOUT A MILLION,
AND YOU MIGHT BE COMING CLOSE TO WHAT NASA FELT LIKE
IN THE 1960s.
APOLLO 11 WAS LAUNCHED ON A SATURN V ROCKET
FROM KENNEDY SPACE CENTER ON JULY 16, 1969.
AND THERE WAS A HUGE CROWD WATCHING THAT LAUNCH,
BOTH FROM NEARBY LOCATIONS AND LIVE ON TELEVISION.
ONE REPORTER RECALLED THAT HE WAS SO DRAWN
TO THE FACES OF THE PEOPLE WATCHING
THAT HE HAD TO REMEMBER TO TURN AROUND
AND WATCH THE LAUNCH.
ONE AND A HALF ORBITS AROUND EARTH LATER,
THE SPACECRAFT STARTED TO INCREASE ITS ORBIT
TO PUT IT ON A PATH TO REACH THE MOON.
THEN IT SEPARATED FROM THE LAST REMAINING STAGE
OF THE SATURN V ROCKET
AND DOCKED WITH THE LUNAR MODULE.
ON JULY 19th,
APOLLO 11 PASSED BEHIND THE MOON
AND FIRED ITS SERVICE PROPULSION ENGINE TO ENTER LUNAR ORBIT.
THEN, ON JULY 20th, MICHAEL COLLINS,
THE COMMAND MODULE PILOT, STAYED BEHIND
IN THE COMMAND MODULE AS EDWIN "BUZZ" ALDRIN
AND NEIL ARMSTRONG GOT INTO THE LUNAR MODULE,
NAMED EAGLE, DETACHED FROM THE COMMAND MODULE,
AND MADE THEIR DESCENT TO THE SURFACE.
AFTER LANDING ON THE SURFACE,
AND FEELING VERY COMFORTABLE IN THE LUNAR GRAVITY,
THE EXCITED PAIR DECIDED
TO GO AHEAD WITH THE SURFACE WORK IMMEDIATELY.
THEY ACTIVATED THE CAMERA
IN THE MODULAR EQUIPMENT STOWAGE ASSEMBLY
AND BEGAN BROADCASTING VIDEO BACK TO EARTH.
AND THEN HISTORY WAS MADE,
AS THE FIRST HUMANS WALKED ON THE MOON.
HOW BIG A DEAL WAS THAT FIRST MOONWALK?
WELL, LET'S PUT IT LIKE THIS.
THE 2009 SUPER BOWL HAD A TELEVISION VIEWING AUDIENCE
OF ABOUT 100 MILLION PEOPLE.
THAT'S A LOT OF PEOPLE, RIGHT?
BUT GET THIS.
IN 1969, THE GLOBAL POPULATION WAS AROUND 3 1/2 BILLION PEOPLE,
JUST ABOUT HALF OF THE GLOBAL POPULATION TODAY.
AND IT'S ESTIMATED THAT ABOUT 20% OF THE WORLD
WATCHED THE LIVE TRANSMISSION OF THE FIRST MOON WALK.
DO THE MATH, AND THAT'S ABOUT 700 MILLION PEOPLE WATCHING.
HUGE.
AND TO PUT THAT INTO BETTER PERSPECTIVE,
THAT'S 20 TIMES MORE VIEWERS
THAN THE MOST-WATCHED EPISODES OF "AMERICAN IDOL."
SO WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO GET THAT MANY PEOPLE INTERESTED
IN ONE THING AGAIN?
I'M HOPING IT'LL BE NASA
HEADING BACK TO THE MOON OR ON TO MARS OR BEYOND.
AND I KNOW YOU'RE THINKING, "WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL?
WE'VE BEEN TO THE MOON BEFORE. WHY GO BACK?"
WELL, IN A RECENT SPEECH AT THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCE,
PRESIDENT OBAMA TALKED ABOUT THE HISTORIC APOLLO MISSIONS.
- THAT APOLLO PROGRAM PRODUCED TECHNOLOGIES
THAT HAVE IMPROVED KIDNEY DIALYSIS
AND WATER PURIFICATION SYSTEMS,
SENSORS TO TEST FOR HAZARDOUS GASSES,
ENERGY-SAVING BUILDING MATERIALS,
FIRE-RESISTANT FABRICS USED BY FIREFIGHTERS AND SOLDIERS.
MORE BROADLY, THE ENORMOUS INVESTMENT IN THAT ERA
IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY,
IN EDUCATION AND RESEARCH FUNDING
PRODUCED A GREAT OUTPOURING OF CURIOSITY AND CREATIVITY,
THE BENEFITS OF WHICH HAVE BEEN INCALCULABLE.
- HE WENT ON TO SAY THAT IT IS TIME TO RESTORE SCIENCE
TO ITS RIGHTFUL PLACE.
THERE'S A LOT MORE STUFF TO LEARN,
NOT JUST ABOUT THE MOON
BUT ABOUT THE WORLD WE LIVE IN AND ON
AND THE UNIVERSE AROUND US.
SO LET'S BE THE ONES TO STEP UP TO THE CHALLENGE.
LET'S MAKE OUR OWN HISTORY.
WHO KNOWS?
IN 40 YEARS, CROWDS OF PEOPLE MAY BE LOOKING BACK ON NASA
AND REMEMBERING SOMETHING YOU'VE DONE.
WELL, THAT'S IT FOR NOW. THANKS FOR WATCHING.
I'M TOM SHORTRIDGE,
AND WE'LL CATCH YOU NEXT TIME ON "NASA LAUNCHPAD."