Such a fantastical moment in history - it still baffles the heck out of me. Darn shame the moon landing hasn't ever really amounted to anything more. You know, no moonbases, and such. ;)
I realize you're making a joke of course! But you reminded me of this great moment I read about in the book Space Race by Deborah Cadbury. The Soviet Luna program was in full swing in 1969, but even so, the entire team at Kosmograd was clustered around one of their TV sets, watching the Moon landing with the rest of the world; when Neil Armstrong's boot hit the ground the entire building broke out in cheers. One of the project directors recalled that at that moment, there were no Americans, there were no Russians; they were all scientists cheering their colleagues. ;o; Aww...
Half a joke, actually. And you are certainly correct about the scientists.
But the public, not so much. Winning the space race was a political blow in the Cold War. It was important to win, to beat the other side to this. So while the scientists may have been united, well...the day after, I doubt it.
Well, actually... your doubts aren't unjustified, sadly. While the Apollo moon landing was broadcast on international television for the whole world, the Luna program - and the fact that the Soviets landed a rover on the Moon that was operational for eleven months, gathering samples, taking readings and doing experiments - was shrouded in secrecy due to politics. When everything was declassified after the Cold War, because so much time had passed, their achievements became little more than a historical footnote. ;o;
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I realize you're making a joke of course! But you reminded me of this great moment I read about in the book Space Race by Deborah Cadbury. The Soviet Luna program was in full swing in 1969, but even so, the entire team at Kosmograd was clustered around one of their TV sets, watching the Moon landing with the rest of the world; when Neil Armstrong's boot hit the ground the entire building broke out in cheers. One of the project directors recalled that at that moment, there were no Americans, there were no Russians; they were all scientists cheering their colleagues. ;o; Aww...
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But the public, not so much. Winning the space race was a political blow in the Cold War. It was important to win, to beat the other side to this. So while the scientists may have been united, well...the day after, I doubt it.
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