The Dark Side of the Moon

The Landing

"One step for man, but a giant leap for mankind"

The whole world cheered as the little white figure jumped onto the desolate land. People applauded and danced around the world, for it was something no man had ever done before. To place a mere mortal into the infinite vastness of space, to travel onto a celestial body other than the one we've been born, it was a moment of enormous pride for the human race. While the world marveled at this impossible feat, scientists had already begun to discuss about the infinite implications this event made in the future of science. Anyone with a TV had their eyes glued onto the same image, little blobs of blacks and whites flickering onto the screen, the little bits of information dissolved with radiations from space had traveled millions of miles onto our green planet.

Somewhere in a room full of peoples, Gene Kranz grinned as he eyed the screen. He heard squeals of excitement from all around him, from people who had joined him and dared challenge the impossible, people who made it all happen. After years of tiring research, the White Team had successfully performed its job; it had not only landed but also put the first man on the moon. Containing his emotions, he remained calm and looked over the operation from his station above. Amongst this elation however, Kranz could not help but feel a sense of impending danger on his colleagues all the way over in another world.

*************************

The soil felt softer than he'd expected. The air felt thin, and rightfully so. The suit had been tailored for him personally and to perfection, but with all this commotion going on, it seemed to be pulling him down. Maybe the gravity owed some of this weight, it must've been greater than he'd expected. Everything was new and strange but for some reason, he had never felt more at home. Maybe his training had paid off. Maybe he was always destined to be here.

Into the distant horizon he could see the sun, its magnificence portrayed against the vast galactic canvas. And there beside the blazing ball of fire laid our green planet, the only known celestial body on the universe to ever contain life. Everything he'd known and felt and seen and heard came from somewhere in there. He felt small; his entire life belittled by the massive universe. The sight was "out of the world".

The radio crackled and a human voice rang in his ear.

"Beautiful view"

"Isn't it magnificent?"

"Magnificent desolation"

He looked to his acquaintance and smiled. They were on the moon.

The two men hopped upon the lunar surface. It felt uncomfortable in the suit, but it was all the protection they had against the emptiness surrounding them. For a moment, it was just them and their own tiny little bubble of personal space, away from the commotion down on earth, away from the anxiety and frustration, from people's hopes and expectation. It was momentary but it was all they had after all these months of training. They had the world at their backs, waiting, their friends and families to get back to, an entire planet to get back to but not right away. Right now, they had systems to analyze, variables to consider, samples to collect, experiments to do. They had a purpose on the moon, a destiny to fulfill, a necessity to be there. They were the sole living souls on the entire satellite and the hopes for the century were riding on them. The radio crackled once more and they set out to explore a land never seen before.