July 19, 2016 6:35 pm

How Apollo 11 Inspired Neil Tyson and Mike Massimino

Today’s guest blog post is from StarTalk Intern Benjy Schoenfeld, who is a junior at SUNY New Paltz majoring in Digital Media Production.

How can you get inspired by an event when you weren’t there to witness it? On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins brought mankind one giant leap forward. It is one of the greatest events in history, but I didn’t see it. I am only 21 years old, but I love history. One of the thrills of being a StarTalk Intern is that I get to listen to older episodes, and I had the privilege of pulling out great StarTalk SoundBites and Cosmic Minutes for the Anniversary of Apollo 11. I am excited to share some of my favorite StarTalk Apollo 11 Anniversary moments with you.

One moment I enjoyed listening to was from the episode “A Tribute to Neil Armstrong – StarTalk Cosmic Queries” where Neil deGrasse Tyson and his childhood friend talked about where they were on that historic day. Later in the clip, Dr. Tyson talks about how his friend was the first person who ever lent him a pair of binoculars, so he could look up and see the stars and the moon. According to Dr. Tyson, looking up at the Moon that way for the first time, it “became a world” to him. Hearing Dr. Tyson’s fond memories of that day and his childhood gave me a better sense of why that day is so important.

One of my other favorite moments was when Buzz Aldrin talked about how he became an astronaut. I have always admired Buzz Aldrin, because he is such a visionary of space exploration, and a huge presence on social media. In “StarTalk Live! At Town Hall with Buzz Aldrin (Part 1)” he tells the story of how his friend and fellow astronaut Ed White inspired him to apply. I thought that was a pretty bittersweet story, because Ed White was one of the astronauts who was later killed in the Apollo 1 mission. Buzz also shares how he initially didn’t fit the qualifications to be an astronaut. You really can accomplish what you put your mind to!

I also got to explore Apollo 11 from a more historical perspective, and discovered what truly drove these missions to space. In the first episode I mentioned, Dr. Tyson talks about how war has been the main driver of space exploration, more than curiosity. I mean, I knew about the Cold War, but I just never realized how important it was to the space race. If it wasn’t for the Soviet Union, Dr. Tyson says we would have never gotten to the moon in the first place.

Recently, I got to attend a taping of StarTalk All-Stars, which was being hosted by astronaut Dr. Mike Massimino. I had the privilege to ask him about what Apollo 11 meant to him.

Like many astronauts, he was inspired to pursue his career because of Apollo 11. “It was a great accomplishment, a lot of technology had to be developed to do that, that we didn’t have. It inspired a lot of people to pursue that as a career, [and] be a part of the space program. It was huge!” Even though he wasn’t on the moon during Apollo 11, it inspired him to create his own history and legacy. Mike did two repair missions to the Hubble Telescope and composed the first tweet from space.

Even though a small handful of people have walked on the moon, it’s because of these missions that people like Neil deGrasse Tyson and Dr. Mike Massimino continue to inspire the world. Happy Apollo 11 Anniversary, everyone!