Neil Armstrong and Sally Ride: Space Pioneers

Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Neil Armstrong photographed by Buzz Aldrin after the completion of the Lunar EVA on the Apollo 11 flight (brighter and smaller version) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon.  Sally Ride was the first American woman is space.  Both astronauts died within weeks of each other--Armstrong at 82, Ride at 61--as NASA (and space travel) struggles to become relevant again.

Armstrong was part of the Apollo 11 crew with Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins that fulfilled President John F. Kennedy's 1961 prediction of an American landing on the moon within a decade.  On July 20, 1969, Armstrong stepped on to the moon's surface with these words:  "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind".

Men on the moon gave way to space shuttles by the time Ride came along.  In 1983, as part of the crew of the Challenger, she became the first American female astronaut.

Both Armstrong and Ride were quiet people who, after retiring from NASA, tried to live their lives outside the spotlight.  They could have run for political office like John Glenn, or become a business executive like Frank Borman.  But they didn't.

Maybe Ride had more reason to keep a low profile.  After her death, it was revealed that she had been in a long-term relationship with another woman.  So she was a pioneer in that respect as well.

NASA's golden age has long gone, shrunken by layoffs, budget cuts and manned space flights being taken over by the private sector.  So it was kind of pathetic to see them cheering the landing of the latest unmanned space probe to Mars named "Curiosity".  The pictures we've been getting back from that craft could just as easily have been taken from the drought-stricken American southwest and midwest.

Today's generations might consider the efforts of Neil Armstrong and Sally Ride to be ancient history, with more down-to-earth problems taking center stage.  If it weren't for these space pioneers and countless others who risked their lives and reputations finding out what's out there, most of the technology that influences the life we live today wouldn't have been possible.  And you wouldn't be reading this on a computer or a mobile device.