Apollo 11 mission patch

Neil deGrasse Tyson thinking he's dropping more wisdom than Solomon:

The Apollo 11 mission patch:
No American flag.
No space hardware.
No Astronaut names.
In that regard, unique among space emblems.

Affirmation that walking on the Moon was an achievement of the human species, to be shared by all. pic.twitter.com/Fw7Y7EWR1m

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) July 20, 2019

1. Sure, except for the blindingly obvious bald eagle which almost everyone knows is America's national symbol.

2. If NdGT wanted to convey the idea that Apollo 11 was "an achievement of the human species, to be shared by all", he could simply have quoted what Neil Armstrong said. You know, the whole "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" thing?

Or the Apollo 11 lunar plaque that was left on the surface of the moon:

3. On the one hand, the fact that it was the U.S. that was able to put a man on the moon and come back home safely is primarily a testament to the U.S. and the U.S. space program (NASA). After all, American leaders promoted the space program. American voters supported the space program. American taxpayers paid for the space program. American scientists and engineers drove the space program. American astronauts manned the missions. And so on.

On the other hand, just because the U.S. shouldered the weight and achieved what it achieved doesn't necessarily imply others made zero contributions. Nor does it imply that Americans didn't do it on behalf of "mankind".

NdGT could have pointed out the U.S. space program had help from other scientists around the world (e.g. The Dish, Canada's contributions). He could have likewise pointed out that NASA had European scientists and engineers (among others) who fled wartorn Europe and/or Soviet communism come and work on Apollo 11.

4. There's something to be said for a nation that is able to attract the brainpower, cultivate the native talent, foster the industriousness, etc. to send a man to the moon and back. In this respect, the United States in the 1960s was like fertile soil that allowed an amazing plant (Apollo 11) to grow and thrive. The question is what made the U.S. such fertile soil?

At the same time, there's a reason the Soviets didn't send a man to the moon and back despite some other impressive achievements.

The space race for equality

America may have put the first man on the moon, but the Soviet Union sent the first woman, the first Asian man, and the first black man into orbit — all years before the U.S. would follow suit https://t.co/DrTZYxvbD7

— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 18, 2019

Thanks to Steve for pointing out this NYT article to me. My thoughts:

Apollo 11

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon. Buzz Aldrin followed immediately behind him. Michael Collins was in orbit around the moon in the command module.