Why did Neil Armstrong alone, not NASA, end up coming up with the first words uttered on the moon?
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"That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind" (Neil Armstrong)
These words are now firmly established in the history of space travel, and at least according to his bio, was concocted by himself during his journey to the moon. But why was he allowed to do this (apparently without any supervision/approval by his employer, NASA)?
The entire Apollo 11 mission was planned in detail, and they intentionally broadcasted the historic moment live, so there's no doubt that this was a huge publicity stunt for NASA (and by extension the United States). Why didn't anybody think to have a script prepared by someone on the ground in advance so as to make most use of the moment? Nixon even had a speech ready in case something went wrong and the astronauts died; surely someone could have prepared an equally elegant speech for the greatest achievement of mankind. It's interesting because that moment on television probably had the widest audience reach ever; they could've used that moment to spread whatever propaganda they wanted and have it be heard by most of mankind.
...I mean what if the first words to come out of his mouth were "Hail Hydra"? That would've been a catastrophic embarrassment for the US.
history apollo-11
asked yesterday
Setsu
1414
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show 6 more comments
up vote
8
down vote
favorite
"That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind" (Neil Armstrong)
These words are now firmly established in the history of space travel, and at least according to his bio, was concocted by himself during his journey to the moon. But why was he allowed to do this (apparently without any supervision/approval by his employer, NASA)?
The entire Apollo 11 mission was planned in detail, and they intentionally broadcasted the historic moment live, so there's no doubt that this was a huge publicity stunt for NASA (and by extension the United States). Why didn't anybody think to have a script prepared by someone on the ground in advance so as to make most use of the moment? Nixon even had a speech ready in case something went wrong and the astronauts died; surely someone could have prepared an equally elegant speech for the greatest achievement of mankind. It's interesting because that moment on television probably had the widest audience reach ever; they could've used that moment to spread whatever propaganda they wanted and have it be heard by most of mankind.
...I mean what if the first words to come out of his mouth were "Hail Hydra"? That would've been a catastrophic embarrassment for the US.
history apollo-11
asked yesterday
Setsu
1414
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Setsu is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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1
@uhoh Not quite, but I understand the confusion. My main question is why NASA apparently didn't have any thing planned for him to say, given the significance of the moment, leaving Neil Armstrong to come up with his own.
– Setsu
yesterday
I mean, even if he had been given a speech to say, he could've still said whatever he wanted.
– Phiteros
yesterday
1
@Setsu , I think it's just a matter of "times were simpler then". Nowadays everything would involve huge PR companies and so on.
– Fattie
yesterday
1
Have you read this? space.com/19119-neil-armstrong-quote-moon-controversy.html
– Fattie
yesterday
1
@Setsu It’s hard to exercise any authority over an employee who is currently literally on the moon.
– 11684
yesterday
|
show 6 more comments
up vote
8
down vote
favorite
up vote
8
down vote
favorite
"That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind" (Neil Armstrong)
These words are now firmly established in the history of space travel, and at least according to his bio, was concocted by himself during his journey to the moon. But why was he allowed to do this (apparently without any supervision/approval by his employer, NASA)?
The entire Apollo 11 mission was planned in detail, and they intentionally broadcasted the historic moment live, so there's no doubt that this was a huge publicity stunt for NASA (and by extension the United States). Why didn't anybody think to have a script prepared by someone on the ground in advance so as to make most use of the moment? Nixon even had a speech ready in case something went wrong and the astronauts died; surely someone could have prepared an equally elegant speech for the greatest achievement of mankind. It's interesting because that moment on television probably had the widest audience reach ever; they could've used that moment to spread whatever propaganda they wanted and have it be heard by most of mankind.
...I mean what if the first words to come out of his mouth were "Hail Hydra"? That would've been a catastrophic embarrassment for the US.
history apollo-11
asked yesterday
Setsu
1414
New contributor
Setsu is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
"That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind" (Neil Armstrong)
These words are now firmly established in the history of space travel, and at least according to his bio, was concocted by himself during his journey to the moon. But why was he allowed to do this (apparently without any supervision/approval by his employer, NASA)?
The entire Apollo 11 mission was planned in detail, and they intentionally broadcasted the historic moment live, so there's no doubt that this was a huge publicity stunt for NASA (and by extension the United States). Why didn't anybody think to have a script prepared by someone on the ground in advance so as to make most use of the moment? Nixon even had a speech ready in case something went wrong and the astronauts died; surely someone could have prepared an equally elegant speech for the greatest achievement of mankind. It's interesting because that moment on television probably had the widest audience reach ever; they could've used that moment to spread whatever propaganda they wanted and have it be heard by most of mankind.
...I mean what if the first words to come out of his mouth were "Hail Hydra"? That would've been a catastrophic embarrassment for the US.
history apollo-11
history apollo-11
asked yesterday
Setsu
1414
New contributor
Setsu is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked yesterday
Setsu
1414
New contributor
Setsu is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited yesterday
asked yesterday
Setsu
1414
New contributor
Setsu is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked yesterday
Setsu
1414
asked yesterday
Setsu
1414
1414
New contributor
Setsu is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Setsu is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Setsu is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
1
@uhoh Not quite, but I understand the confusion. My main question is why NASA apparently didn't have any thing planned for him to say, given the significance of the moment, leaving Neil Armstrong to come up with his own.
– Setsu
yesterday
I mean, even if he had been given a speech to say, he could've still said whatever he wanted.
– Phiteros
yesterday
1
@Setsu , I think it's just a matter of "times were simpler then". Nowadays everything would involve huge PR companies and so on.
– Fattie
yesterday
1
Have you read this? space.com/19119-neil-armstrong-quote-moon-controversy.html
– Fattie
yesterday
1
@Setsu It’s hard to exercise any authority over an employee who is currently literally on the moon.
– 11684
yesterday
|
show 6 more comments
1
@uhoh Not quite, but I understand the confusion. My main question is why NASA apparently didn't have any thing planned for him to say, given the significance of the moment, leaving Neil Armstrong to come up with his own.
– Setsu
yesterday
I mean, even if he had been given a speech to say, he could've still said whatever he wanted.
– Phiteros
yesterday
1
@Setsu , I think it's just a matter of "times were simpler then". Nowadays everything would involve huge PR companies and so on.
– Fattie
yesterday
1
Have you read this? space.com/19119-neil-armstrong-quote-moon-controversy.html
– Fattie
yesterday
1
@Setsu It’s hard to exercise any authority over an employee who is currently literally on the moon.
– 11684
yesterday
1
1
@uhoh Not quite, but I understand the confusion. My main question is why NASA apparently didn't have any thing planned for him to say, given the significance of the moment, leaving Neil Armstrong to come up with his own.
– Setsu
yesterday
@uhoh Not quite, but I understand the confusion. My main question is why NASA apparently didn't have any thing planned for him to say, given the significance of the moment, leaving Neil Armstrong to come up with his own.
– Setsu
yesterday
I mean, even if he had been given a speech to say, he could've still said whatever he wanted.
– Phiteros
yesterday
I mean, even if he had been given a speech to say, he could've still said whatever he wanted.
– Phiteros
yesterday
1
1
@Setsu , I think it's just a matter of "times were simpler then". Nowadays everything would involve huge PR companies and so on.
– Fattie
yesterday
@Setsu , I think it's just a matter of "times were simpler then". Nowadays everything would involve huge PR companies and so on.
– Fattie
yesterday
1
1
Have you read this? space.com/19119-neil-armstrong-quote-moon-controversy.html
– Fattie
yesterday
Have you read this? space.com/19119-neil-armstrong-quote-moon-controversy.html
– Fattie
yesterday
1
1
@Setsu It’s hard to exercise any authority over an employee who is currently literally on the moon.
– 11684
yesterday
@Setsu It’s hard to exercise any authority over an employee who is currently literally on the moon.
– 11684
yesterday
|
show 6 more comments
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
up vote
11
down vote
I don't have a definitive answer to this question because I have never come across any discussion of NASA even considering the idea of giving the astronauts a script to read for part of the mission. As far as I know, that was just not something that NASA did or does now. The live TV broadcasts on the way to the moon were not scripted, just as the ISS tours you can see on YouTube today are, to my understanding, put together by the astronauts themselves.
In Apollo 8, the astronauts read from Genesis while in orbit about the Moon. According to astronaut Frank Borman, "...the only instructions that we got from NASA was to do something appropriate."
I do think letting the astronauts speak for themselves has worked out well from a PR point of view. It tended to focus attention more on the genuine exploratory aspects of the mission and less on the (also genuine) showing-off aspects of the mission. Which can be an effective way of showing off.
answered yesterday
Mark Foskey
1,423614
2
+1I'd guess that by the time they get to space, most astronaut have decided that they like going to space and would like to do it again, and so there's probably a strong personal incentive not to do things that would embarrass the space program that would be stronger than any rule would be.
– uhoh
yesterday
2
@uhoh , it's worth remembering the times, the guy was 100% military and "career government", I think it's inconceivable he would have said anything silly!
– Fattie
yesterday
1
+1 Good answer! I like the bit about Apollo 8 as it provides insight into what NASA's stance was on situations where astronauts would be directly facing the public.
– Setsu
yesterday
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
11
down vote
I don't have a definitive answer to this question because I have never come across any discussion of NASA even considering the idea of giving the astronauts a script to read for part of the mission. As far as I know, that was just not something that NASA did or does now. The live TV broadcasts on the way to the moon were not scripted, just as the ISS tours you can see on YouTube today are, to my understanding, put together by the astronauts themselves.
In Apollo 8, the astronauts read from Genesis while in orbit about the Moon. According to astronaut Frank Borman, "...the only instructions that we got from NASA was to do something appropriate."
I do think letting the astronauts speak for themselves has worked out well from a PR point of view. It tended to focus attention more on the genuine exploratory aspects of the mission and less on the (also genuine) showing-off aspects of the mission. Which can be an effective way of showing off.
answered yesterday
Mark Foskey
1,423614
2
+1I'd guess that by the time they get to space, most astronaut have decided that they like going to space and would like to do it again, and so there's probably a strong personal incentive not to do things that would embarrass the space program that would be stronger than any rule would be.
– uhoh
yesterday
2
@uhoh , it's worth remembering the times, the guy was 100% military and "career government", I think it's inconceivable he would have said anything silly!
– Fattie
yesterday
1
+1 Good answer! I like the bit about Apollo 8 as it provides insight into what NASA's stance was on situations where astronauts would be directly facing the public.
– Setsu
yesterday
add a comment |
up vote
11
down vote
I don't have a definitive answer to this question because I have never come across any discussion of NASA even considering the idea of giving the astronauts a script to read for part of the mission. As far as I know, that was just not something that NASA did or does now. The live TV broadcasts on the way to the moon were not scripted, just as the ISS tours you can see on YouTube today are, to my understanding, put together by the astronauts themselves.
In Apollo 8, the astronauts read from Genesis while in orbit about the Moon. According to astronaut Frank Borman, "...the only instructions that we got from NASA was to do something appropriate."
I do think letting the astronauts speak for themselves has worked out well from a PR point of view. It tended to focus attention more on the genuine exploratory aspects of the mission and less on the (also genuine) showing-off aspects of the mission. Which can be an effective way of showing off.
answered yesterday
Mark Foskey
1,423614
2
+1I'd guess that by the time they get to space, most astronaut have decided that they like going to space and would like to do it again, and so there's probably a strong personal incentive not to do things that would embarrass the space program that would be stronger than any rule would be.
– uhoh
yesterday
2
@uhoh , it's worth remembering the times, the guy was 100% military and "career government", I think it's inconceivable he would have said anything silly!
– Fattie
yesterday
1
+1 Good answer! I like the bit about Apollo 8 as it provides insight into what NASA's stance was on situations where astronauts would be directly facing the public.
– Setsu
yesterday
add a comment |
up vote
11
down vote
up vote
11
down vote
I don't have a definitive answer to this question because I have never come across any discussion of NASA even considering the idea of giving the astronauts a script to read for part of the mission. As far as I know, that was just not something that NASA did or does now. The live TV broadcasts on the way to the moon were not scripted, just as the ISS tours you can see on YouTube today are, to my understanding, put together by the astronauts themselves.
In Apollo 8, the astronauts read from Genesis while in orbit about the Moon. According to astronaut Frank Borman, "...the only instructions that we got from NASA was to do something appropriate."
I do think letting the astronauts speak for themselves has worked out well from a PR point of view. It tended to focus attention more on the genuine exploratory aspects of the mission and less on the (also genuine) showing-off aspects of the mission. Which can be an effective way of showing off.
answered yesterday
Mark Foskey
1,423614
I don't have a definitive answer to this question because I have never come across any discussion of NASA even considering the idea of giving the astronauts a script to read for part of the mission. As far as I know, that was just not something that NASA did or does now. The live TV broadcasts on the way to the moon were not scripted, just as the ISS tours you can see on YouTube today are, to my understanding, put together by the astronauts themselves.
In Apollo 8, the astronauts read from Genesis while in orbit about the Moon. According to astronaut Frank Borman, "...the only instructions that we got from NASA was to do something appropriate."
I do think letting the astronauts speak for themselves has worked out well from a PR point of view. It tended to focus attention more on the genuine exploratory aspects of the mission and less on the (also genuine) showing-off aspects of the mission. Which can be an effective way of showing off.
answered yesterday
Mark Foskey
1,423614
answered yesterday
Mark Foskey
1,423614
answered yesterday
Mark Foskey
1,423614
answered yesterday
Mark Foskey
1,423614
1,423614
2
+1I'd guess that by the time they get to space, most astronaut have decided that they like going to space and would like to do it again, and so there's probably a strong personal incentive not to do things that would embarrass the space program that would be stronger than any rule would be.
– uhoh
yesterday
2
@uhoh , it's worth remembering the times, the guy was 100% military and "career government", I think it's inconceivable he would have said anything silly!
– Fattie
yesterday
1
+1 Good answer! I like the bit about Apollo 8 as it provides insight into what NASA's stance was on situations where astronauts would be directly facing the public.
– Setsu
yesterday
add a comment |
2
+1I'd guess that by the time they get to space, most astronaut have decided that they like going to space and would like to do it again, and so there's probably a strong personal incentive not to do things that would embarrass the space program that would be stronger than any rule would be.
– uhoh
yesterday
2
@uhoh , it's worth remembering the times, the guy was 100% military and "career government", I think it's inconceivable he would have said anything silly!
– Fattie
yesterday
1
+1 Good answer! I like the bit about Apollo 8 as it provides insight into what NASA's stance was on situations where astronauts would be directly facing the public.
– Setsu
yesterday
2
2
+1 I'd guess that by the time they get to space, most astronaut have decided that they like going to space and would like to do it again, and so there's probably a strong personal incentive not to do things that would embarrass the space program that would be stronger than any rule would be.– uhoh
yesterday
+1 I'd guess that by the time they get to space, most astronaut have decided that they like going to space and would like to do it again, and so there's probably a strong personal incentive not to do things that would embarrass the space program that would be stronger than any rule would be.– uhoh
yesterday
2
2
@uhoh , it's worth remembering the times, the guy was 100% military and "career government", I think it's inconceivable he would have said anything silly!
– Fattie
yesterday
@uhoh , it's worth remembering the times, the guy was 100% military and "career government", I think it's inconceivable he would have said anything silly!
– Fattie
yesterday
1
1
+1 Good answer! I like the bit about Apollo 8 as it provides insight into what NASA's stance was on situations where astronauts would be directly facing the public.
– Setsu
yesterday
+1 Good answer! I like the bit about Apollo 8 as it provides insight into what NASA's stance was on situations where astronauts would be directly facing the public.
– Setsu
yesterday
add a comment |
Setsu is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Setsu is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Setsu is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Setsu is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
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1
@uhoh Not quite, but I understand the confusion. My main question is why NASA apparently didn't have any thing planned for him to say, given the significance of the moment, leaving Neil Armstrong to come up with his own.
– Setsu
yesterday
I mean, even if he had been given a speech to say, he could've still said whatever he wanted.
– Phiteros
yesterday
1
@Setsu , I think it's just a matter of "times were simpler then". Nowadays everything would involve huge PR companies and so on.
– Fattie
yesterday
1
Have you read this? space.com/19119-neil-armstrong-quote-moon-controversy.html
– Fattie
yesterday
1
@Setsu It’s hard to exercise any authority over an employee who is currently literally on the moon.
– 11684
yesterday