The mass gross absence of sound in space is more than just silence.

Yes, I am the last man to have walked on the moon, and that's a very dubious and disappointing honor. It's been far too long.

The countdown reached ten seconds and I could almost hear an invisible crescendo of stirring background music. 'Anchors aweigh!' Five, four, three, two, one... and we had ignition!

Mom was always doing something for somebody. She came from a Czech background, one that made her a devout Catholic and gave her a strong belief in the family.

We leave as we came, and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind.

Another hundred years may pass before we understand the true significance of Apollo. Lunar exploration was not the equivalent of an American pyramid, some idle monument to technology, but more of a Rosetta stone, a key to unlocking dreams as yet undreamed.

It's our destiny to explore. It's our destiny to be a space-faring nation.