Come to the dark side
of the full deserted moon
see what is hidden
Only an exclusive group of astronauts have seen the Moon’s terrain up
close, and only a dozen have had the added privilege of setting foot on it. In
just four years between 1969 and 1972 NASA conducted six moon landings, even
though the majority of us are only really conversant with the details of the
very first one. The distant presence of the Earth while standing on the Moon’s
surface must have been both comforting and disconcerting, knowing that that is
where you belong, but recognising the vast distance that separates you from
home, and the number of things that could prevent you from returning.
We only see one surface of the Moon. The far side was shrouded in
mystery until space flight produced grainy images, but more recent satellite
imagery has brought the heavily cratered surface into sharp focus. For those
crossing the far side in their glorified tin cans, it meant a period of time in
isolation, completely cut off from Earth. Everyone held their breath waiting
for that moment when the airwaves would crackle to life again as the spacecraft
emerged from the void and communication was restored.
Our lesser light is a forbidding place, barren and cold, but a thing of
beauty nonetheless. Watching its many phases never ceases to captivate those
who regularly train their telescopes heavenward to scan and study the night
sky.
The astonishing spectacle of our blue planet suspended in space captured
on that first lunar expedition, is both a stunning and haunting image. Knowing
that we are responsible not only for its survival, but the welfare of every
living thing that inhabits it, is something we all too easily lose sight of if
we believe we as individuals are the centre of the universe.
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