neil armstrong

Snug in Earth’s orbit, Hubble is free from the background glare that earthly telescopes must fight to see the stars. This allows its supersensitive camera to take better photos of galaxies farther away—and thus much dimmer—than any optical telescope on the ground can. But despite being closer to the moon than any other telescope, there’s no way the scope could snap a photo of that one small step man took 40 years ago.

Hauntingly fascinating is this speech by William Safire (most famous these days for his "On Language" column in the New York Times), drafted for President Richard Nixon to read in the event of a mishap during the Apollo 11 mission that would have stranded Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon:

Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.
These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is
no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for
mankind in their sacrifice.
These two men are laying down their lives in mankind's most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding.
They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be
mourned by the nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world;
they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons
into the unknown.
Read the full text here [via kottke.org]. —John Mahoney