By the light of the moon

The 40th anniversary of the moon landings has excited and enthralled me much more than expected.

I've been lapping up the media coverage like a thirsty dog does water.

Much of the reason for this I realise, is due to my recent visit to Cape Canaveral, from which of course, all the Apollo missions were launched during the 60's and 70's (there's nothing as satisfying as pointing at the telly and saying, "I've been there".)

I'd never visited America before last year and despite my healthy cynicism towards the nation (they re-elected George W Bush for Christ's sake), gaining a fuller understanding of the sheer improbability of that lunar endeavour forced me to reassess my admittedly lazy viewpoint.

The single-mindedness, defiance and self-reverence that I'd come to see as representative of American imperialism, was also that which enabled such an incredible objective to be achieved. 'Only in America' - a cliche which like most cliches, harbours a certain truth.

However, not only could landing a man on the moon only be achieved in America, on understanding the ridiculously fine line between success and tragic failure, you realise that it could only have been achieved in that era too. In today's politically correct, 'health & safety' conscious world, such a mission just simply wouldn't be allowed.

The safe return of the astronauts couldn't be guaranteed and in many quarters was seriously doubted. Even President Nixon had a speech readied in case of the astronauts loss.

When you consider that if the Eagle's rockets hadn't fired (in order to return Armstrong and Aldrin to the Command module) there were no back ups, no additional fuel tanks etc., you realise it so easily could have been a disaster.

Obviously we may well go back to the moon, and if Arthur C Clarke's vision of the future is precient, we may even go on to explore our wider solar system. Despite this though, you get the impression man may never again achieve such a feat against the odds.

A sad possibility, but it will ensure we stay in thrall to the moon landings forever. They may yet teach us something about ourselves that surprises us!