Jul 27 1969
From The Space Library
Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory's Dr. Gary Latham said in Houston his team had detected 14 "unusual seismic events" from seismometers left on moon by Apollo 11 astronauts. They believed walls of lunar craters had been falling in as different parts became hotter than others during highest lunar temperatures and felt they might be observing "initial stages of the process by which fresh new craters are transformed to old." (W Post, 7/28/69, A6)
President Nixon toured Jakarta Fair during Indonesian visit. He offered to send Indonesian President Suharto and other world chiefs of state "a piece of the moon as a souvenir." In evening at state dinner in Jakarta, President Suharto said: "I underline Mr. Armstrong's momentous enunciation, when he, as the first human being, put his feet on the moon, declaring: 'These are small human steps which form a great leap to mankind: This leap has occurred in the outer space, a very expansive space full of mysteries, but it has not taken place in this world of ours, which seems to be contracting and is relatively simpler. .. It is the task of all nations in this world to realize peace and unity." (NYT, 7/28/69, 18; PD, 8/4/69, 1043-6)
Apollo 11 flight was public relations man's and reporter's dream, James Clayton said in Washington Post. NASA had kept "very little, if anything" from hundreds of U.S. and foreign press. More than 3,500 sets of press credentials had been issued at MSC and Cape Kennedy. Most went to Americans, but 55 foreign countries were represented, including Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Romania. There were 111 newsmen representing Japan among 800 foreign newsmen, several of whom had been waiting in Houston since Apollo 10 flight May 18-26. Voice of America joined in transmitting news abroad. At peak, Apollo 11 story was going out in 22 languages to every world area except some Communist countries. "Even those had the radio beams directed at them." (W Post, 7/27/69, B6)
Psychological, technical, and political factors had combined to enable U.S. to win lunar landing race over U.S.S.R." said Harry Schwartz in New York Times. Moscow had shown overconfidence in underrating American capabilities, ignored lunar rendezvous technique adopted by U.S." and purged Nikita S. Khrushchev, who had been "enamored of space exploits and the propaganda they gave him." New Soviet leaders had changed priorities to concentrate on domestic problems. Since U.S. lunar landing, however, "two very different reactions are visible in the Soviet Union." Scientists, engineers, and many ordinary people were overcome with admiration. Ideologists and Soviet propaganda managers were deeply unhappy, "and their regret that it was not Soviet cosmonauts who went to the moon is scarcely hidden." (NYT, 7/27/69)
Washington Sunday Star editorial said "Apollo 11 has cast a harsh light on life on earth, showing man's failures in sharp contrast to his breathtaking technical achievements. It is a vision that should . . . be exploited as an incentive to get the vitally needed jobs done on earth." But, the U.S. could not withdraw from space. "The complete Apollo Program.. . should be funded. Beyond that, serious consideration should be given to the establishment of permanent manned stations on the moon so that we may truly explore and perhaps exploit the new world that we have already conquered. The manned orbiting station that NASA has proposed should be provided to test the ability of men to live and work for long periods in weightlessness. And far more emphasis should be placed . . . on unmanned probes of the planets." Minimum requirement should be enough momentum in program to prevent it from falling apart through disuse. Every effort should be made "to enlist the cooperation, the technical help, and the financial support of any nation that is willing to contribute to the adventure that must, finally, be seen as the collective achievement of all mankind." (W Star, 7/27/69, El)
In Washington Sunday Star William Hines said: "Considering how very little he had to do with the whole enterprise, it is remarkable how much political mileage President Nixon got out of the flight of Apollo 11. The plaque, the phone call and the trip to greet the returning heroes all were benefits Nixon inherited rather than earned." Official NASA space age history This New Ocean, published by GPO in 1966, mentioned Nixon only once in 648 pages "and there hardly as an aggressive champion of manned space flight." Book said Nixon, as Vice President and as presidential candidate running against John F. Kennedy, had defended Eisenhower Administration's attitude toward space which ruled out manned flights to moon in foreseeable future. "The new President's belated enthusiasm blurs memories of the olden days," Hines said. "But This New Ocean, remains, proving perhaps that all government-sponsored history books should be armed to self-destruct whenever a change of administration occurs." (W Star, 7/27/69, E4)
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