In 1969 man was beginning a new era in space exploration, Apollo 11 was destined to reach the moon in July and make America the first nation to land a man there. The Apollo moon landing was America’s demonstration to the world of its industrial and scientific might, it was to shine as a beacon to other nations.

We all know that Michael Collins, Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin and Neil Armstrong made it to the moon and that Armstrong and Aldrin got the chance to dance about on the surface for a bit, before they all returned to Earth safe and sound and just in time for a cup of Kenco and a Jammie Dodger.

However thought was given by Nixon’s administration to what was to be said in the event of a catastrophe that left the astronauts stranded. It was written by presidential speech writer William Safire and it goes like this.

Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.

These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice.

These two men are laying down their lives in mankind’s most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding.

They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by the nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown.

In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of man.

In ancient days, men looked at the stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.

Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man’s search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts.

For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind.

Setting aside my deeply cynical views on spin from governments, the feelings expressed in that speech are perfectly balanced. The hope for the future drawing a veil over the fact that the astronauts would, at the time the speech was read, still be alive but know that they had no hope of rescue, displays a sleight of hand that any magician would be proud of.

Great words though, made all the greater by the fact that they draw on themes I wouldn’t have expected from a nation like America. Still as Thomas Mann said, a man’s dying is more the survivors’ affair than his own.

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