Buzz Aldrin on the Ladder to step onto the Moon. Photo credit: NASA

Monday July 20 2009 is the fortieth anniversary of the first Moon Landing by Americans, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

I can remember seeing the flickery black and white television pictures. It was in the early hours of the morning here in the UK. I had two very young children so I was asleep. My husband woke me up so I could watch the historic event. Because I’d been so deeply asleep, the whole thing felt like a dream at the time and I remember it the way you remember a dream.

At the time, it was such an amazing and exciting event. It really seemed unbelievable that there were two men from earth actually walking on the moon. In a way, I can understand why some people refuse to believe it. They obviously don’t have the imagination to take in such an enormous achievement in the same way as it would have been totally incredible to people 100 years ago that we could communicate instantly with people on the other side of the world.

Neil Armstrong working at an equipment storage area on the lunar module. Photo credit: NASA

Now we have men of different nationalities working together in the space station orbiting earth. The adventure into space will continue. What other almost incredible missions will be achieved? Perhaps we will find life somewhere else in the universe or maybe we will colonize other planets. There are so many possibilities. In fact, the possibilities and opportunities for mankind in space are as endless as the universe itself.

Now you might like to look at the NASA page on Future Missions.

Nick Griffin, the leader of the far right British Nationalist Party (BNP) which won two seats in the European elections last Sunday, intended to hold a press conference outside Parliament in London to talk about the victory.

Protesters heard about it and quickly gathered around him. He and his colleagues fled from them as they chanted “Nazi scum.” They also pelted him with eggs, one of which definitely hit him. He had to take refuge in his car which quickly drove away.

Last weekend Europe was celebrating the D Day invasions of World War II which eventually freed European countries from the curse of Fascism and Hitler. How can people in this country vote for these far right so-called politicians? Could their victory of two seats in the European Parliament ever have happened at a more inappropriate time?