40 years from the moon

You may have noticed - as it’s been making the headlines - but this year marks the 40th anniversary of what could be described as mankind’s greatest achievement to date. Sure, it was the by-product of the Cold War, but on July 20 1969 man set foot on the moon for the very first time.

As a species better known for its wars, waste, crime and corruption, we finally had something to be truly proud of - an achievement that would have been unthinkable just a few decades before, and unimaginable before. Reaching the moon was more than simply the progression of science and technology, it represented a stage in the development of humanity itself, creating a watershed between what was before and what would come after.

As Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin padded across the sandy wastes of our planet’s satellite, billions of eyes were following them from the earth - that astonishingly beautiful blue sphere in the middle of a dark and alien void. Standing on the moon and looking back at our world was a profound experience indeed, and one that would irrevocably touch the lives of each and every one of the lunar astronauts. Some turned to religion, some to art, while others trusted in science or campaigned for the preservation of our precious planet, but none found peace after the Apollo missions.

There are those who have attempted to give the space travellers a voice and explain to the rest of us why they were so affected, but somehow the reasons remain hard to fathom. I was fortunate to have interviewed Andrew Smith, the Anglo-American author who spoke to most surviving astronauts at length and who through his book Moondust took us a step closer to understanding the momentous impact of seeing our planet in all its fragile and splendid isolation.

Recently Andrew has been on the BBC, as part of a series dedicated to the moon landings. Parallel to all of this are all the conspiracy theories, which hold that man’s sojourn to the moon was nothing more than a carefully staged publicity stunt shot in a studio like an ordinary science fiction film. While I can’t personally vouch for it I incline to believe that we did enjoy this momentous achievement and could revel in true glory for once. Those who doubt the technological likelihood are happy to accept the existence of satellites or secret weaponry of great sophistication, but at the end of the day none of this is important.

Neither is the Cold War connotation. What is important is that we dared to dream of going to the moon at all - and how it made us all drop our pens, guns and other implements for a moment and stare heavenwards in rapt amazement. For once the outer reaches of possibility seemed within our grasp and our petty earthly squabbles seemed utterly provincial. For me, however, the message goes further, and what I really got from Andrew Smith book - and believe the astronauts have been trying to tell us - is that no matter where we venture to boldly explore there is only one earth that nourishes us and from which we have sprung forth - and that this lonely planet is a unique commodity worthy of our every care.