Readers write: The Monitor鈥檚 moon landing coverage
See what readers had to say in the Aug. 12 issue.
AP
Effects of the lunar program
Regarding the July 22 editorial 鈥�Why the moon landing still inspires鈥�: The successful Apollo 11 mission confirms that a team of committed, highly motivated men and women can accomplish a worthwhile project in a way that is truly satisfying. Therein lies a lesson we can all comprehend and embrace.
Alistair Budd
Newport, Wales聽
Why We Wrote This
Letters to the editor for the August 12, 2019 weekly magazine.
Lunar program cost
In the editorial 鈥�Why the moon landing still inspires,鈥� a question was referenced: 鈥淲hy spend so much money on NASA at a time of war and social unrest?鈥�
I鈥檓 one of the people who relates to that question. I鈥檓 all for continuous exploration, experimentation, and advancements. I admire the work of the people who achieved the moon landing.聽At the same time, I wonder whether the world would not be served better by tackling urgent issues directly, rather than benefiting from the fallout of costly space exploration.
Elisabeth Seaman
Mountain View, California聽
Moon mission anniversary
I鈥檓 rarely at a loss for words like I am about the July 22 Monitor Weekly, and this includes every page in it.聽聽There鈥檚 been so much coverage of the moon landing, but nowhere else did I read an article that included the facts and human interest narratives that Eva Botkin-Kowacki included in the cover story, 鈥�One giant feat for mankind.鈥澛燭his issue is going into my collection of treasures for my family to have. Thank you to all who helped bring it to readers.
Carolyn Hill
Portland, Oregon
A historian鈥檚 view
Editor鈥檚 note: The following letter is from a space historian who contributed to Monitor reporting earlier this year.
鈥�One giant feat for mankind鈥� was an outstanding article.聽In fact, I think it鈥檚 the best Apollo anniversary cover story I鈥檝e read so far. So many are boring to a longtime Apollo anniversary observer like me.
The best part was the observation of how the meaning of going to the moon changed from something impossible to something achievable but utterly remarkable.聽The idea of a 鈥渟ea change鈥� in our culture is captured very well. No one will ever be able to take away the fact that, 50 years ago, a bunch of geeks and government civil servants put their heads together and did the impossible. We鈥檝e not had a challenge as great since.
David S.F. Portree
Tempe, Arizona