Chapter 1: A Childhood Obsession

As a young child, I was captivated by the moon landings. However, after once gazing at the stars, our leaders now seem to only look inward.

Photo: Lee Balterman/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images

By Suzanne Moore

"I am immensely thankful to have experienced this extraordinary event in my lifetime. At that moment, I was exactly 11 years old," I noted diligently in my scrapbook dedicated to the moon. My obsession with the moon landings was intense; I collected every newspaper clipping available and scrawled "Man on the moon" on any surface I could find. Writing it on my desk, however, resulted in a swift reprimand.

My family didn’t share my enthusiasm. It was yet another indication of my feeling like an outsider. In Ipswich, no one grasped the monumental nature of the event as I did, and instead of watching it unfold on television, I was sent on a tedious camping trip. This only reinforced my belief that I was indeed an outsider.

As I matured—though not significantly—my fascination remained. Tom Waits's lyrics from "Shore Leave" resonate with me: "And I wondered how the same moon outside over this Chinatown fair / could look down on Illinois / and find you there." This shared celestial body connects us all, making us feel both larger and smaller at once. The ancients understood this, and so did I; we could reach for the stars.

Every piece of information I could find was meticulously added to that scrapbook. The scientific aspects? I’ll leave those to the experts, but in retrospect, the risks taken by Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins seem monumental. They splashed down "upside down but they were quite all right," I recorded casually. My excitement about “moon germs” and the concept of quarantine was palpable as I glued articles about the “space wives” into my scrapbook.

I incessantly asked my mother, who couldn’t afford it, to take me to London to see the moon rock. "The moon rock was given to distinguished scientists," I wrote. "They were utterly perplexed."

My initial thrill at a flag being planted on the moon faded into a fixation on the astronauts themselves. "While the moon men were in quarantine, they were visited by President Nixon," I noted excitedly. "Eventually, 24 individuals, including a woman, had to join them in quarantine."

Oh, 1969—what hope we had for new worlds to discover. Observing Earth from space ignited the ecological movement, though I didn’t fully grasp that at the time. Nor did I understand the complexities of the space race and its colonial implications until later, often through music. David Bowie and the poignant geopolitics articulated by Gil Scott-Heron also shaped my understanding. A year after the moon landings and the "giant leap for mankind," Scott-Heron reminded us of the struggles faced by Black Americans: “I can’t pay no doctor bill / (but Whitey’s on the moon) / Ten years from now I’ll be paying still / (while Whitey’s on the moon).” What has truly changed half a century later?

While some questioned the value of exploring space when we still struggle with basic issues, others took a different approach. A few years later, Sun Ra crafted "Space Is the Place," where he finds himself on another planet after getting lost on a European tour, ultimately resettling African Americans there, using his music as transportation. This concept of Afrofuturism is mind-expanding.

The moon landing remains a symbol of endless possibilities. When I left school at 16, and teachers asked about my future, I claimed I would likely become an astronaut. Despite my fear of flying and lack of athleticism, I felt a door had opened. The exploration of both inner and outer space has always felt interconnected for me. My heart raced this year when I spotted a mosaic of Valentina Tereshkova in the Tashkent subway—the first woman in space, launched in 1963.

In a world that increasingly turns inward, filled with small-minded leaders focusing on barriers and limitations, I choose to speak about this now. They seek to confine our imagination and potential. I urge you to look up at the night sky, just as I did as a child. At that same moon. And wonder.

Chapter 2: Perspectives on the Moon Landing

In the video titled "Space experts react to the Apollo 11 Moon landings," specialists reflect on the monumental achievements of the Apollo 11 mission and its lasting impact on science and society.

The second video, "One Small Step: 55 Years Since Apollo 11 Landed On The Moon," commemorates the anniversary of the moon landing and explores its significance in contemporary culture.