American astronaut Neil Armstrong passed away into the heavens, his explorations are
American astronaut Neil Armstrong passed away into the heavens, his explorations are legendary and he will remain as tall as the stars and moon. A man whose famous words ‘one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind’ has inspired several generations to take up space exploration as a career, including many in India.
It was in 1969 that Mr Armstrong stepped on to the moon surface, but till date he is spurring innovation even at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). It may not be an exaggeration to suggest that ISRO’s birth in 1969 was precipitated because of the historic landing of the ‘Eagle’ on the lunar surface. Mr Armstrong also visited India soon after his historic moon landing and once again later in 1995.
For today’s generation, Mr Armstrong could be the equivalent of Usain Bolt who won the hundred meter dash at the recent London Olympics. The American astronaut was also a winner of the race that spurred two Cold War nations erstwhile USSR and USA to race to the moon. That US won the very expensive race of landing a man on the moon is well-known. However, today ironically the American’s have lost the capability to send astronauts into space after the Space Shuttle was retired last year.