Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Apr 20, 2006 0:10:01 GMT -6
NASA Honors Neil Armstrong with Moon Rock Award
Apollo's first moonwalker Neil Armstrong was honored today as NASA Ambassador of Exploration at an event hosted by the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal in Ohio. During the televised ceremony, Armstrong was presented with a small sample of a moon rock he returned from the lunar surface, which in turn he donated to the center's Museum of Natural History and Science for public display.
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin introduced Armstrong to the invited audience, which included members of the astronaut's family.
In addition to commanding the first moon landing in 1969, Armstrong was honored for his X-15 rocket plane flights and for piloting Gemini 8, "by all accounts the most harrowing space mission that the United States has yet executed and from which survival was possible," recounted Griffin. "Neil is, if nothing else, an engineering test pilot, and in that milieu, is a test pilot's test pilot."
Accepting the award, Armstrong described the acrylic-encased moon rock as "impressive" while still acknowledging that it was only on loan from NASA. "I get to keep it myself only so long as I speak today, so I am going to be talking longer than I otherwise would," quipped Armstrong.
More here: www.space.com/news/cs_060814_armstrong_bok.html
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Of all the Moonwalkers, Armstrong is the most quiet, secretive and never says much.
The Book "Moonwalkers" has great accounts of what the lives of the Lunar astronauts have been since returning. Most all have had negative experiences adapting to normal civilian life. After...what else is there after walking on the Moon...everything is so....ordinary!