Apollo 50: Postscript.

Peace On Earth

Man has reached out and touched the tranquil moon. Puisse ce haut fait permettre a l’homme de redecouvrir la terre et d’y trouver la paix.

Pierre Eliot Trudeau, Apollo 11 goodwill message

There's a sad irony in the plaque that was mounted on the ladder of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module, given that there were 549,500 American troops in Vietnam in July of 1969. (And a similar irony in Trudeau's message, which translates to "May that high accomplishment allow man to rediscover the Earth and find peace.")

To date, there have been 18 fatalities during space travel - three of which took place in orbit - and 13 deaths as part of related training.  At some point, we will witness the first extraterrestrial murder - which, sadly, may be the real proof that humanity has become a space-going species.

- Sid