Apollo 11 - The Journey to the Moon

I was 15 years of age when Apollo 11 blasted off from Cape Kennedy carrying three men to the moon. Two of the astronauts would achieve world-wide fame by being the first men to walk on the moon's surface. Their names were Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin. Much has been written about the mission and the lunar explorers but do you know the name of the third man who flew on Apollo 11? His name was Michael Collins and his job was to stay on board the Command Module to wait for the two lunar explorers to return in the Lunar Module. This story is about his role in Apollo 11's historic flight to the moon.

I recently returned from a trip to the Kennedy Space Center. You will see a photograph of the Space Center's "Rocket Garden" further down this page. When I got home a friend gave me the loan of a book written by Michael Collins, called Carrying the Fire, in which he tells about his training for the mission and his journey to the moon.

Back in the 1960's computers were very big. This was not really a problem as long as you had plenty of room in your office or laboratory. However, when the engineers designed the Apollo spacecraft, the two things which worried them most was the limited amount of space into which everything, including three men, had to fit and the weight of all the equipment. The heavier the spacecraft - the more fuel would be needed to get it to the moon. Few people today realise how small and limited the computer was which was on board Apollo 11. It was so small in fact that Ground Control had to keep sending up information by radio to keep it functioning properly. Indeed it is a fact that the computer on which you are reading this story is many times more powerful than the computer on board Apollo 11! It was Michael Collin's job to contact Ground Control and reprogram the small computer with the latest data from NASA so that the spacecraft would remain on the right course to the moon and be able to send the Lunar Module down to land at the correct area of the moon (the Sea of Tranquillity).

Day by day Collins did as he was told. The large computers on the ground did lots of calculations and Collins fed all the information into the small computer in the spacecraft and the mission was a spectacular success.

When I read this story I wondered what would have happened if Michael Collins had woken up one morning and thought to himself - "I'm a clever guy, I don't need to listen to Ground Control telling me the way to the moon, I can find my own way there." Somehow I don't think that the mission would have been nearly so successful. Apollo 11 would probably have gone badly off course and may not have been able to find its way safely back home.

It seems foolish to think that any astronaut would try to find his way through space on his own. Should it not also seem foolish for people to think that they can find their way through life without directions from Someone who knows the right path to follow? Christians believe that God wants them to follow Him on their journey through life. How are we to find out where God is leading us and which route he wants us to take? The answer to this question is found in the Old Testament book of Psalms (Psalm 119 vs. 105) "Your word (The Bible) is a lamp to my feet, and light to my path."

To be an astronaut you have to follow good directions - to be a Christian you have to follow God's commands.