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Millions Use Social Media, Facebook To Remember Space Pioneer Neil Armstrong
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Joel Leyden Jerusalem, Israel --- August 25, 2012 ... There are heroes and there are heroes. Some are created by Hollywood, others by a lost media in search of inspiration and symbols of hope. But there can be no doubt as to who and what Neil Armstrong was. Among the world's greatest explorers including Ferdinand Magellan, Christopher Columbus, Richard Evelyn Byrd, Marco Polo and John Glenn is Neil Armstrong. For thousands of years man has gazed up towards the stars. Focusing on the moon and wondering what it would take to make that trek. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human being to walk on the moon. He was the commander of the Apollo 11 lunar module, and was accompanied by fellow astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin. Armstrong's first, historic words after stepping onto the moon's dusty, cold surface were: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." Neil Armstrong, had risked it all. Years of dangerous training only to be crowned by sitting above a lit candle that would hurl him thousands of miles into a hostile and dark environment. Beyond the romanticism, was the reality that if anything had gone wrong, there was no rescue team to secure him and his Apollo 11 crew. Not from space. And not from the surface of the moon. Against all odds, Neil Armstrong made it to the moon and safely back to earth. Transcending US defense needs for a strategic presence on the moon, numerous scientific breakthroughs for medicine and a better quality of life, were the hopes, dreams and inspiration that Armstrong brought back to earth for generations of mankind. That all was possible. Today, at the age of 82, Neil Armstrong passed away. It was not due a malfunction aboard a spacecraft, a leaky oxygen hose or a meteorite slamming into his space ship, but rather complications of a heart operation that no one expected.
Before landing on the moon, Armstrong impressed all those around him. As a test pilot, he was respected as “the most technically capable of the early X-15 pilots.” Others said that he “had a mind that absorbed things like a sponge and a memory that remembered them like a photograph.” Armstrong made seven X-15 flights at 4,000 miles per hour, reaching the edge of space, and went on to pilot several other new, innovative flying machines. Armstrong became the first American civilian astronaut to fly in space, as the commander of Gemini 8. But it was being chosen by the best to be the best to set foot on the moon. As word of his death spread throughout a wide variety of social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, stunned members of the NASA family and the millions who had watched him land on the moon have set out to honor and remember Armstrong. NeilArmstrongCondolences.com which directs to a Facebook condolence page was created for the global public to sign their names, upload photos, quotes, tributes and dream the dreams that men and women like Armstrong have turned into reality. Neil Armstrong has been decorated by over 17 countries. He is the recipient of many special honors, including the US Presidential Medal of Freedom; the Congressional Space Medal of Honor; the Explorers Club Medal; the Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy; the NASA Distinguished Service Medal; the Harmon International Aviation Trophy; the Royal Geographic Society’s Gold Medal; the Federation Aeronautique Internationale’s Gold Space Medal; the American Astronautical Society Flight Achievement Award; the Robert J. Collier Trophy; the AIAA Astronautics Award; the Octave Chanute Award; and the John J. Montgomery Award. In addition to his many professional accomplishments, Neil Armstrong was a loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend. He is survived by his wife, his two sons, a step son and step daughter, 10 grandchildren, and a brother and a sister. Armstrong's family distributed the following statement: “For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.”
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