Apollo 11 - Forty Years on

This anniversary is kind of emotional and nostalgic for me. My father (now deceased) worked in the space industry in Canberra; so I grew up with the Space Age being a part of the home.

As a kid I used to love to be taken out to the Orroral

 Valley Tracking Station, where dad worked, and was fascinated by the banks of computers with their flashing lights, as well as the dish that was controlled by a sphere mounted into a desk console (precursor of a touchpad).

On the day of the moon landing, I remember being taken out of school to watch it live, with dad explaining the whole thing as it unfolded. I knew that it was something big, but I was also struck by my father's passion around what was happening.

It remains a vivid memory of mine as a 7-year old boy.

What's exciting for me now is that the journey can be relived through wechasethemoon and followed on twitter @AP11_SPACECRAFT. Indeed, we are in a different age.

 

We also used to be brought home from school by my father to watch solar eclipses using pin-hole cameras. We'd make the cameras at home then draw phases of the eclipse from the camera.

I guess somethings about learning don't change. The learning was out of school, surrounded with passion, inquiry and questioning. It instilled awe and wonder in my young mind and a spirit of inquiry.

Photos taken from link to a Honeysuckle Tracking Station site.