Amid so many events, Apollo 9 astronaut Russell “Rusty” Schweickart, now 84, found a moment for reflection. “To me, the real importance of this anniversary is the overall reality of human beings first stepping off planet Earth into the cosmos; not in imagination, not via a robotic spacecraft, but human beings moving through the birth canal of mother Earth and into the universe,” Mr. Schweickart said. “That is a historic moment that will be remembered for a thousand years.”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-nation-celebrates-the-50th-anniversary-of-apollo-11-11563537608