Jul 26 1969
From The Space Library
Apollo 11 astronauts, enclosed in mobile quarantine facility (MQF), arrived at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where they were greeted by 12,000 cheering people and Mayor of Honolulu Frank F. Fasi. Mu was then transported to aircraft which would carry it to Lunar Receiving Laboratory in Houston. At LRL, scientists opened first of two boxes of lunar samples and made preliminary examinations of samples in one box. (Wooten, Wilford, NYT, 7/27/69, 47, 1)
At lunar landing celebration dinner in Huntsville, Ala., Dr. Wernher von Braun, MSFC Director, said: "We worked together and together we accomplished our part of the mission. The moon is now accessible. And someday, because of the beginning that we have made here, the planets and the stars may belong to mankind. This reach toward the heavens, toward the stars, can eventually loose the human race from the confines of this earth and maybe even this solar system and give it immortality in the immense and never-ending reaches of space." For first time, "life has left its planetary cradle and the ultimate destiny of mankind is no longer confined. When the Mayflower landed on American shores the pilgrims did not envision the nation that would eventually evolve. Neither can we truly say what will eventually spring from the footprints around Tranquility Base." (Text)
At state dinner in Manila, Philippine President Ferdinand E Marcos exchanged toasts with President Nixon and commented on Apollo 11 : ". . . we participate in the celebration of this achievement as man aspires for the stars, the stars outside of this world and the stars within himself and within his spirit. It is the hope of humanity, as it is the hope of the Philippines, that this vision and this genius, this courage and this ingenuity shall be utilized for the solution of man's problems. , (PD, 8/4/69, 1036-7)
New York Times interview quoted Dr. William H. Pickering, JPL Director: "Now that Apollo has been accomplished, rather than set another ambitious goal we should have a period of consolidation," during which "the balance should be increased toward unmanned effort." There was talk of exploring universe, "but the solar system is only a small part and it's going to be a long time before we venture out. We are making a very local exploration." He believed solar system exploration would pay off in understanding of history and evolution of solar system and, possibly, discovery of life on another planet and in social benefits. "The trouble with the social world is that we cannot agree on goals. We talk of weather control ... but control for whom? The farmer or the sportsman or the businessman?" (Reinhold, NYT, 7/27/69, 47)
Creation of U.N. Space Institute was urged by Columbia Univ. law professor Richard N. Gardner in New York Times. It would be "center for the cooperative planning of space exploration in which all U.N. members would be invited to take part" U.S. and U.S.S.R. could divide responsibilities for instrumented landings on different planets. There should be "United Nations Space Station" in outer space manned by astronauts from all U.N. nations and trained at U.N. Space Institute. It would gather information about solar system and universe and be used for practical earth applications. (NYT, 7/26/69, 24)
London Economist editorial: 'When Europe drew pride and status from its colonies, the Americans had none: the tables are turned now. While the United States rings July 21st red on its calendar, Europe faces the probability that when the planets are opened up we Europeans will have no part in doing it. The idea, at this late stage, of a European manned space programme is nonsense. The policy that would make more sense would be to approach the United States to see if the Administration will accept some foreign collaboration in the hugely expensive next years of its space programme. If the next American objective is Mars, a sensible Administration may welcome help and participation-especially if this excludes pressure to co-operate with the Russians. . . . There will be no opportunity in this generation that it would cost us more to miss." (CSM, 8/1/69)
Federal Register published rule signed by NASA Administrator, Dr. Thomas O. Paine, which made unauthorized manufacture, sale, reproduction, or possession of official Apollo flight insignia, "or any colorable imitation thereof," misdemeanor punishable by $250 fine and six months in prison. (Federal Register, 7/26/69, 12332-4)
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