SLIM Chances: Upside-down, but not Out on the Lunar Surface

The lunar surface

The moon has perpetually been a beacon of curiosity to humankind, always in the sky urging us to look up and beyond. In the mid-20th century, this fascination sparked a historic rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, known as the Space Race. This era was marked by extraordinary milestones: satellites orbiting Earth, humans venturing into space and the landmark event of a man setting foot on the moon – a moment etched in history with the phrase, “One small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind.” It was an era where the impossible became possible – though some still question if it was a monumental human achievement or an elaborately crafted façade.

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A Cure for 1970s-era Sci-Fi Special Effects: NASA’s Image of the Day Gallery

Earth viewed from spaceI enjoy science fiction (sci-fi) movies and television shows and include the original Star Wars trilogy in my top ten list of favorite movies—certainly Star Wars: A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back but less so the Return of the Jedi simply because I find the ewoks more annoying than cute. This choice in entertainment was probably imprinted upon me at an early age. At age 7, I saw Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope as my first movie in a movie theater, and my brothers and I had piles of Star Wars-related toys. Also, I remember watching reruns of the original Star Trek but only when we could get grainy reception of a distant television station. I watched the original Battlestar Galactica, Doctor Who during the Tom Baker years and even Pigs in Space on The Muppet Show. It was the late 1970s and 1980s, and I was surrounded by images of space travel, albeit the poor-quality, often cheesy sci-fi images typical of that era.
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