Editorial, Haaretz July 21, 1969
Direct link to this page: https://www.hayadan.org.il/lunaluna.html
The observer on Columbus's ship shouted Tara! Tara! and discovered America. 477 years after this call, and if everything goes well, the call Luna will echo from outer space! Luna! Will the conquest of the moon leave its mark on the annals like the discovery of America and its settlement?
We have difficulty predicting the world in thirty years. How can we make mistakes in predictions for hundreds of years? The feeling is that Armstrong and Aldrin landing on the moon is a milestone, and that what happened yesterday is after today.
From the moment Citizen Armstrong set foot on the lunar soil, there was an order in effect that he would not stop talking, neither he nor his colleague who landed in his wake. There is something Kafkaesque about the instruction and the additional instructions the two astronauts received. Despite the exact calculations, despite the preparations, planning and arduous training - there remains a large room for maneuver for the tricks of fate. A small mistake, a fleeting human weakness, an unforeseen factor - and an inevitable disaster. What is the risk rate? There are no statistics, no experience, no precedents, and for that reason it is impossible to base a Siron forecast. The instruction to the astronauts to report non-stop for the three hours they were on the moon outside of their spaceship was to ensure people on Earth maximum information, no matter what.
The journey of the Soviet Luna 15 spacecraft around the moon is still shrouded in fog. The experts make guesses and most of them imply that the chances of the Soviets to wrest the primacy from the hands of the Americans are very slim. But until the last moment, not many experts will continue to believe that the Soviets are preparing a surprise.
The human journey to the moon highlights the growing gap between the two superpowers and the rest of the countries. Apparently we are not interested in the results of the competition between the two majors, but only in the universal meaning of the operation. In fact, the hope beats in our hearts that the American operation will succeed and that the US victory will not be denied: because of our upbringing, our worldview and because of the values that guide us - there
In our hearts we have deep sympathy for those who did and are doing their actions openly; Those who chose a citizen to be a pioneer are fulfilling a generational dream.
