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US PRESIDENT Barack Obama and astronaut Buzz Aldrin have led tributes to Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, who died yesterday.
Armstrong, who died from complications following cardiac bypass surgery, was praised for his willingness to embrace and then conquer challenges that had once seemed impossible.
“When he and his fellow crew members lifted off aboard Apollo 11 in 1969, they carried with them the aspirations of an entire nation,” said Obama, who was just short of his eighth birthday when the historic mission succeeded.
“They set out to show the world that the American spirit can see beyond what seems unimaginable – that with enough drive and ingenuity, anything is possible,” he added in a statement.
“When Neil stepped foot on the surface of the moon for the first time, he delivered a moment of human achievement that will never be forgotten.”
Aldrin, who with Armstrong was watched by an estimated global television audience of 500 million as they gingerly bounced on the moon’s surface in their chunky spacesuits, praised his comrade’s skill, dedication and selflessness.
“I know I am joined by millions of others in mourning the passing of a true American hero and the best pilot I ever knew,” Aldrin said, noting that his thoughts were with Armstrong’s devastated but proud family.
I will miss my friend Neil as I know our fellow citizens and people around the world will miss this foremost aviation and space pioneer.
The third Apollo 11 astronaut – Michael Collins, the command module pilot who orbited the moon while his crewmates landed – said Armstrong “was the best, and I will miss him terribly.”
Armstrong, a Korean War veteran who was decorated by 17 countries and received a slew of US honours, was never comfortable with the worldwide fame that stemmed from the Apollo 11 mission and had always shied away from the limelight.
“He didn’t feel that he should be out huckstering himself,” John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth told CNN, recalling Armstrong’s legendary humility.
He was a humble person, and that’s the way he remained after his lunar flight, as well as before.
For the United States, the Apollo 11 mission was a Cold War manoeuvre, a bid to fulfill the vow made by then-president John F Kennedy that NASA could overtake the pioneering Russian space program and put a man on the moon.
For spellbound audiences around the world, it was also an extraordinary and optimistic voyage of discovery and engineering, whose achievements had a profound effect on space and aviation, said Obama.
“Neil was among the greatest of American heroes — not just of his time, but of all time,” the president said. “Neil’s spirit of discovery lives on in all the men and women who have devoted their lives to exploring the unknown.”
Obama’s Republican challenger for the White House, Mitt Romney, said the space pioneer was an inspiration who now “takes his place in the hall of heroes.”
“With courage unmeasured and unbounded love for his country, he walked where man had never walked before,” said Romney, who spoke with Armstrong just a few weeks ago. “The moon will miss its first son of Earth.”
US defence secretary Leon Panetta bid farewell on behalf of the American military to one of its own.
“As a decorated Korean War veteran, as an astronaut for NASA, and as the first man to walk on the moon, Neil inspired generations of Americans to believe that as a nation we are capable of achieving greatness that only comes with determination, perseverance and hard work,” said the Pentagon chief.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Armstrong’s death marked “the end of an amazing era in human progress.”
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If it was down to me, harvest what you can & put the rest in a cloth sack, big party (black not permitted), then cremetation & disposal of ashes with a tree planting.
Ultimately though, Whatever brings peace to those left behind. Not going to make much difference to me.
That’s pretty much what I’d like…..not sure I’d count on the big party though,how crap if no one showed up hehehehe
I don’t want to die. Putting it off by mega loading vitamin c 1000mg per day.
I know it’s a joke, but that’s not a mega dose of vitamin C..
Humans, guinea pigs, primates and bats are the only mammals who do not produce their own vitamin C. The mammals that do, produce the equivalent of about 10g per day.
If you overdose on vitamin C it has a laxative effect, it’s called “bowel tolerance”. You get loose bowels, same way you do when you reach bowel tolerance of magnesium (hence why milk of magnesia does such a good job of cleaning you out). Anything up to bowel tolerance is considered healthy.
That can be anything from 1-10g per day, it all depends on your bowels.. The 60mg RDA is literally the amount you need to not get a deficiency, not the amount you need to detoxify homocysteine or histamine, or to have anti oxidant benefits.
No laxative effect if you spread out the dosage. I don’t take all at once. It’s water soluble impossible to over dose. The rda is a joke
Well, it is a water soluble vitamin..
Just hope your soluble is sweetener free and has citrus bioflavonoids or else it’s self defeating :)
Why?
Ascorbic acid is only a part of vitamin C. When you take ascorbic acid the body needs to find citrus bioflavonoids (like rutin and hespedrin) in order to be used effectively by the body. Otherwise it’s simply excreted, which can overload the kidneys.
The sweeteners, well.. Aspartame (aspartic acid and methanol), Sodium Saccharin (coal tar) and sucralose (glucose and chlorine) aren’t exactly the health foods they are made out to be..
try vitamin D…its been year since I’ve had a cold or flu……yes i’m going to live forever ;-))
I want to be buried at sea. Well my mother in law always said she’d tap dance on my grave!
I thought the Funeral was always secondary to the wake. Where everyone the deceased ever knew is crammed into a house with Mountains of Hang sangwidges and cups of tae.
I don’t want any ceremony. Morgue, crematorium, ashes scattered preferably near a racecourse. No ceremonies, no wake and definitely no religious nonsense of any type.
I was at a humanist funeral of a friend last year and I have to say it was perfect – a real reflection of who he was with no religious nonsense.
We need more competition between the funeral parlours. Prices of funerals so are exorbitant one might suspect a cartel arrangement
There is not much room left in Glassnevin and I hope to be buried there. What I wish writted on my gravestone is This is my new address NO BILLS.
Always the more green scenic option of the Dublin mountains on the cheap. http://www.UpsetIrelandGangland.com
No mention of donating your body to science in the article. TCD and The Royal College of Surgeons (possibly others) offer this option.
Or you can donate yourself to Gunther Van Haagens plastination institute!
I have filled out the forms to leave my body to the College of Surgeons, which is literally 50 paces from my front door, my kitchen window looks directly at the main entrance of the college on York Street. They wont even need to ring for an ambulance – someone can just run over and get a trolley, and I’ll be still warm when I get there :O)
Im a funeral clown. I make people happy at funerals. I havn’t done a funeral yet but I hope somebody would want me sometime:) http://www.facebook.com/deadhappyireland. “Like” and “Share” if you would like a Dead Happy Funeral:)
I think it depends on what way I go. If its sudden and unexpected you can’t control how people would feel. If I knew I was dying like a long term illness have a party celebrate my life go on the lash (again no black)
Smoking or non smoking,cremated or buried , I’d go for the ashes in space myself,
When Gene Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek died, he had his ashes launched into orbit aboard a Pegasus rocket. Perfectly poetic!
I heard someone talking about a “Sky Burial”, where you are basically left out for the animals to feed on, so that your death can contribute to the survival of a wild animal.. Although I’m sure you would need to be deemed safe for consumption!
What a depressing subject
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