On 22 January 2015 at 12:53, LizR <[email protected]> wrote: > >> "if you think physical reality is more important than mathematics, try > throwing away your computer and flying to the Moon" > > Neil Armstrong was actually forced to do this in the final minutes before Apollo 11 touched down (the computers failed, and he had to land manually). They made it with literally seconds to spare (Armstrong would have landed even if meant they were stranded without enough fuel to regain orbit - he was a bit obsessed with being the first man on the Moon).
It was a hair raising experience for all concerned, which is why you hear the famous "we can start breathing again" from Mission control after "the Eagle has landed' - they normally miss out the intervening part where everyone was panicking. And that was just flying the last few kilometers without the help of mathematical backup! -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
