A hearty “thank you” to the people who run the flicker account of the Project Apollo Archive. They keep posting more incredible photographs from the Apollo missions.
Head over to the archive and take a look.
In addition to the wonderful shots of the moon and the earth, this archive has a great quantity of candid pics of the astronauts: brushing their teeth, sleeping, and just hanging out in the capsule. This collection really brings out the humanity of the program. The technology and engineering was amazing, but at the core of the space program, real people put their bodies into these contraptions and were flung out into space—leaving families behind.
The bigness of space brings out the smallness of mankind.
Elton John seemed to have it about right in his 1972 “Rocket Man“:
She packed my bags last night, pre-flight
Zero hour, nine A.M.
And I’m gonna be high
As a kite by thenI miss the Earth so much, I miss my wife
It’s lonely out in space
On such a timeless flight
O LORD, our Lord,how majestic is Your name in all the earth!You have set Your glory above the heavens.Out of the mouth of babies and infants,You have established strength because of Your foes,to still the enemy and the avenger.When I look at Your heavens,the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars,which You have set in place,what is man that You are mindful of him,and the son of man that You care for him?
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