For those of you who think Tranquility Base is the name of a hotel and casino, as described by the popular beat combo outfit the Arctic Monkeys, then think again. For those of us of a certain age, which is to say fucking old, Tranquility Base is where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on The Moon back in 1969. Ah yes, I remember it well, or at least I think I do. I certainly have a vague recollection of sitting in our living room in the wee small hours, watching our crackling little black and white TV set as Armstrong announced, staccato style, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Or maybe, as with so many memories, I think I remember it, my actual memories being topped up with post moon landing footage during the ensuing 58 years? Either way, it appears the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is planning to deposit some more men on the moon sometime in the next few years. Will it carry the same levels of excitement today as it did back in the day? You bet it will.
As a young child, and now as a doddery old pensioner, I marvelled at how the space boffins could get a man on the moon, especially with the stone-age technology that existed back in the 1960s. The Moon – what an original name for a moon that is – is something like 238,000 miles from Earth. Let’s put that into context. The longest commercial aircraft flight from New York to Singapore is around 9500 miles, taking the best part of 18 hours. By comparison to the moonshot of 1969, the longest flight is a short hop. On a dark, starlit evening, I gaze in wonder up at the moon and wonder: how the hell did Man make it all the way up there and back again in one piece?
The film and photographs of the early moon landings are not exactly HD quality, but the next ones definitely will be. Doubtless, the commander of the mission will be able to film the exciting bits on an iPhone and send back some truly astonishing images of us from the moon, as well as crystal clear images of Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino. The young child that remains in this cronky old body simply can’t wait for that day to come.
Christ knows how much it will cost but the daredevil in me doesn’t care about that. I know that the world is plagued by war and poverty and that we need to act in order to address those things and more, but if we really put our minds to it, we can afford to end wars, end poverty and put a man on the moon. And I think it’s worth it because it will inspire people, particularly young people, to do things to expand their minds, especially in the world of science. Above all, it will give us all moments of wonder, that will take our breath away, as long as the TV companies don’t employ the likes of Sam Matterface and Lee Dixon to commentate on it. (“He’ll be disappointed with that moon landing.”) It will be the ultimate in real life drama. Our eyes would be glued to the screens – not literally, obviously – and the memories, like mine from 1969, would last forever.
Sometimes, mankind must dare to dream and to reach the moon for no other reason because it’s there. I’m genuinely excited about the possibilities of moon landings and I hope NASA just gets on with it, unless Donald trump blows us all up first. No one has been to the moon since 1972 so it’s about time subsequent generations enjoyed the thrill of it all. My main hope is that the BBC will have exclusive rights to the live TV coverage. The last thing I want to hear, as the landing capsule drifts towards the Moon’s surface is, “We will be back after the break with the actual landing … AND IT’S LIVE!”
