One Giant Leap 46 Years Ago

It was 46 years ago today that mankind's greatest historic event took place as Neil Armstrong took "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind". The Apollo 11 moon landing and first step on the moon happened July 20, 1969.

The event was shown on television across the world and fulfilled President John F. Kennedy's 1961 national goal that by the end of the decade we would send a man on the moon and return him safely to earth. He didn't live to see his dream come true, but it did.

I was very young at the time but still remember the historic significance of what I was watching on TV. I also remember my father taking me outside that night and we looked up at the bright moon and wondered what it was like for those astronauts up there at that exact moment.

I still marvel as to how we were able to send people to the moon in 1969, especially when you consider how primitive computers and technology were at the time. In fact, the smartphone that you or I have in our pocket right now has more processing power than they had for the entire Apollo 11 spacecraft during the lunar landing. That too is amazing.