Tranquility Base

Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong made their decent to the moon's surface in a throw away contraption, nicknamed Eagle, using a computer with less power than the typical desk top of today. When the computer overloaded, human touch did the job.

With alarms sounding, lights flashing, and through a lunar dust storm created by the engines of the ship, Armstrong and Aldrin kept their cool and guided the craft using their intuition and experiences learned from life's other challenges. There was no previous moon landing experience to fall back on. No hours of flying the lunar module in real space. Just human touch and emotional control.

Previous missions provided photos of the moons surface from miles above the moon. The moon's surface at 1000 ft appears vastly different than the photos. Huge boulders covered the sites that had appeared to be ideal. With a fuel supply sufficient for minutes of flight, not hours, dwindling down to seconds, Armstrong searched desperately for a safe spot to land. Contingency plans called for aborting the mission at precise windows of opportunity. Miss the window and death was the only option.

At 150 feet above the surface and 30 seconds of fuel remaining, Armstrong spoke "I got a good spot." It was not a big area and it was ringed by a crater and a boulder field. Armstrong had changed his mind several times as he looked for a safe spot. It was not his way to leave anything to chance. The technology was good, the prepartion was intense, the mission was clear. Land on the moon and return safely to earth. Mission Control could offer no help with this final step. Armstrong and Aldrin worked as a team and settled Eagle onto the surface.

The words ring loud and clear today for our group of adventurers "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."

Leon Wegener writes in his book One Giant Leap, Neal Armstrongs Stellar Journey:
Nasa had no idea Armstrong had picked our a name in advnce fore Eagle's temporary lunar bas, but "Tranquility" struck most everyone as appropriate, particularly given the harrowing nature of the flight from orbit to surface.

Considering the nature of our flight from "the rock" to our home, "Tranquility" seems most appropriate.

Pick up Leon Wegener's book at Barnes and Noble for $14.95 in paperback. Or, use your discount card and coupon and pay under 12 bucks as I did last night. A great read.

Peace.