大象传媒

I was working with an NGO as a volunteer teacher at the high school in Tay Ninh Vietnam. The landing occurred at about 2am in Tay Ninh so I was alone in my rented room with my small shortwave radio. The radio was tuned to the World Service, my link to the rest of the world, and I was just staring at it not wanting to miss a word and hoping that I wouldn鈥檛 lose the signal at the critical moment. On Monday the day was full of questions about Apollo from my students. As their lone American teacher they seemed to think that I must know everything about Apollo 11.

Barry Kolb, New Jersey USA

I was nine years old and my father worked for Boeing heading a team that built the Saturn 5 Rocket (the first stage). My best friend was Peter Von Braun, son of Werner Von Braun. Not many people around the world realize that most of the work building the Apollo program was done in Hunsville, Alabama. It took me almost 30 years to realize the parade and the party the next day were a part of a worldwide event. I just thought that Daddy & Werner had performed well.

Bill Peters, Huntsville, Alabama, USA

I was six and TV broadcasting was still black and white in Portugal at the time. I just kept seated in front of the TV watching the event and wondering why the astronaut had to jump all the time with that amazing suit. At night, just to be sure, I went outside and looked at the moon. Let's hope he won't fall on Earth again.

Fernandes Silva, Porto, Portugal

I was 10 years old. We were staying in the Turku Archipelago in Finland in the summer house with my parents and my elder sister. Since there was no TV in the summer house my engineer father took us to Hotel Pommern in Mariehamn where my sister and I got a room of our own. It was the first time I stayed in a fine city hotel. We watched the moon landing from my parents鈥� room. I thought it was remarkable that the astronauts were on the moon but even more amazing that we could watch it (almost) real time via TV. We came back to the same hotel for the return of the astronauts to the Earth. I liked the whole package: astronauts on the moon and the hotel experience.

Paivi Jukola, Helsinki

I was a primary school student back in 1969. My classmates and I wondered if the Americans would succeed and debated if it was a good thing to intrude into another heavenly body. My own family acknowledged the moon fairy as a deity. On the day of the landing, classes had gone on as usual. Then, a teacher stuck his head through the doorway of our class and said, 'They've landed on the moon.' Before we could react, the school's public address system sputtered to life and a senior teacher announced what we had just heard. That was when we applauded.

Lee Yew Moon, Singapore

On July 20, 1969, I was in labour, giving birth to my son, Edward. I urged the Doctor to hurry as I wanted to see the moon landing on TV. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e in control,鈥� was his answer. My son arrived shortly thereafter and I held him while I watched the slow landing and the footsteps on the moon surface and heard the words of Neil Armstrong. It was thrilling and I loved sharing it with my newborn son. The nurses teased me about naming my son after one of the astronauts, as so many new mothers were doing so. I smiled and then thought that, in a way, I had. So I told them, 鈥淚 did. He is Edward Paul Olson. EPaulO鈥濃�攙ery like the name Apollo of the Apollo 11 spacecraft that carried the men to the moon. I had always been interested in the space program since I saw a moving spec in the night sky called Sputnik in 1957. My son grew up interested in it as well. When he was still a baby, his father often carried him out onto the field at the ranch in the evening and pointed out the moon. Edward鈥檚 first word was 鈥渕oon鈥�. Not mama, not dada, but moon.

Sara Sheldon, Boulder, USA