Blogs and Stories
Man on the Moon
Forty years ago today, Neil Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface and made history. VIEW OUR GALLERY of triumphant space moments, our big fat story on where our space program will head next, recollections of Apollo 11, and much more.
View Our Gallery of Amazing Moments in Space
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Gallery: Casting the Apollo 11 Movie
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NASA / AP Photo
BFS: Should We Go to Mars?
As the 40th anniversary of the moon landing approaches, one of the original moonwalkers, Buzz Aldrin, wants us to go to Mars. The Daily Beast on where Obama’s sending us next—pack your bags.
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On the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, Taschen is releasing an art book whose ambition is worthy of the original event itself. VIEW OUR GALLERY.
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NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team
Hubble's Astounding Photos
Astronauts tinkered with the People’s Telescope this week. VIEW OUR GALLERY of star explosions, death-star galaxies, and stunning images taken by the 19-year-old wonder.
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The moment Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon is etched in most people’s memories as a brief snippet of video. The preparation on the moon for that first fateful step actually lasted much longer.
Immediately, they prepared to leave. This was NASA being cautious. No one had ever landed on the Moon before. What if a footpad started sinking into the moondust, or the Eagle sprung a leak? While Neil and Buzz made ready to blast off, Houston read the telemetry looking for signs of trouble. There were none, and three hours after touchdown, finally, Houston gave the “okay.” The moonwalk was on.
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Armstrong’s words became a slogan for space exploration. Though not nearly as famous, Buzz Aldrin made a few poetic comments, as well.
“Beautiful view!” he exclaimed when he reached the lander’s broad footpad. “Isn’t that something!” agreed Armstrong. “Magnificent sight out here.”
“Magnificent desolation,” said Aldrin.
Those two words summed up the yin-yang of the Moon. The impact craters, the toppled boulders, the layers of moondust—it was utterly alien. Yet Tranquillity Base felt curiously familiar, like home. Apollo astronauts on subsequent missions had similar feelings. Maybe this comes from staring at the Moon so often from Earth. Or maybe it’s because the Moon is a piece of Earth, spun off our young planet billions of years ago. No one knows; it just is.
John Talks Joe
Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
Why America Must Learn to Bow
Martin Jacques is the cofounder of the UK think tank Demos, writes a regular column for The Guardian, and is a visiting research fellow at the London School of Economics Asia Research Centre. His new book, When China Rules the World, is available now.
Going Rogue: The Index
Christopher Buckley's books include Supreme Courtship, The White House Mess, Thank You for Smoking, Little Green Men, and Florence of Arabia. He was chief speechwriter for Vice President George H.W. Bush, and is editor-at-large of ForbesLife magazine. His new book is Losing Mum and Pup, a memoir. Buckley's Daily Beast column is the winner of an Online Journalism Award in the category of Online Commentary.
Airports From Hell
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Week in Political Cartoons
The Daily Beast is dedicated to news and commentary, culture, and entertainment. We carefully curate the web’s most essential stories and bring you original must-reads from our talented contributors.
Week in Red Carpet
The Daily Beast is dedicated to news and commentary, culture, and entertainment. We carefully curate the web’s most essential stories and bring you original must-reads from our talented contributors.
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