Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Astronaut Neil Armstrong 'Embodied Our Dreams'
Listen
• 3:06
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED AUDIO)
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Let's remember the man who spoke those words on the moon. Neil Armstrong died on Saturday after a lifetime that inspired many people, including Neil DeGrasse Tyson, director of New York's Hayden Planetarium who is on the line. Good morning. Welcome back to the program.
NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Yeah, good morning. Thanks for having me back.
Support for LAist comes from
INSKEEP: So how did you meet Neil Armstrong?
TYSON: I was 14 years old on board the SS Canberra, which is a huge ocean liner that crossed the Atlantic Ocean to put itself into the position to see a total solar eclipse in the summer of 1973. And he was one of the collected luminaries, and experts who were brought onto the ship to increase the educational value of what was going on. And I was just a kid, and there he was.
He was alone, a quiet guy. And curiously, at that time - like yes, he had just been on the moon a few years earlier, but he wasn't mobbed by everybody. It was a very, sort of, busy time with people preparing to see the eclipse.
INSKEEP: Did he pay attention to you as a 14 year old?
TYSON: He definitely - he had a conversation with me and was very friendly and was very warm, and so it was my first encounter with him - with someone who is a hero, but of course later on he was a very private citizen. And so we made him the hero that he was. And that's a very different kind of - there are other kinds of heroes where they're out there trying to get in the limelight and they're - and so it's a very different kind of person contained in Neil Armstrong.
INSKEEP: Well, when you say a quiet guy, I mean part of the reason he was chosen, we read, was not only that he was smart and obviously very brave, but he had to seem flawless. He had to be somebody who wasn't going to fly off the handle or make mistakes.
TYSON: Well, I think that's certainly the case, and so the guy was smooth. I mean, if you look at his heartbeat when he landed on the moon, yes, it was slightly elevated. It's the kind of heartbeat that any of us would get at the gym. And so, yeah, the guy was very even keeled.
Support for LAist comes from
But I think, for me, what matters there, is he's an American icon because he embodied all of our dreams of what it is to explore. And since we haven't been back to the moon in 40 years, for me, part of me died with him, because the dream hasn't been sustained. And that worries me, greatly, about the future of us as a space-faring nation.
INSKEEP: Was his accomplishment, then, a dead end?
TYSON: It has been, and if we're not back out of low Earth orbit for another 20 years, it makes me wonder whether it'll ever happen again. So it's a sad moment, because the future did not become real for his achievement.
INSKEEP: Thanks very much, Doctor Tyson.
TYSON: OK. Thanks for having me.
INSKEEP: Neil DeGrasse Tyson is director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York City. Also the author of "Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier." Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
After rising for years, the number of residential installations in the city of Los Angeles began to drop in 2023. The city isn’t subject to recent changes in state incentives, but other factors may be contributing to the decline. -
The L.A. City Council approved the venue change Wednesday, which organizers say will save $12 million in infrastructure costs.
-
Taxes on the sale of some newer apartment buildings would be lowered under a plan by Sacramento lawmakers to partially rein in city Measure ULA.
-
The union representing the restaurant's workers announced Tuesday that The Pantry will welcome back patrons after suddenly shutting down six months ago.
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake.
-
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
Best of LAist