4 | July• 2019
Editor’s Note
Journeys of Discovery
FIFTY YEARS AGO, three public servants went on an extraordinary work
trip – to the moon. When you think of the lunar landing in these terms,
the bravery and dedication to duty of Neil Armstrong , Buzz Aldrin and
Michael Collins seems almost comical in our risk-averse world of today. The
achievement of travelling to the moon and back dominated world media
then, and months and years later. At the time, people marvelled at how
these astronauts had traversed science fiction and ended up in scientific
reality. The article ‘Jules Verne’s Trip to the Moon’ (page 34) details the
striking similarities between the trip Jules Verne described in his 1865 novel,
‘From the Earth to the Moon’, and the great exploit of 1969. The elements of
the science Verne describes, such as distances travelled and space capsule
dimensions, writing 104 years before the NASA flight, are uncannily accurate.
While the Apollo 11 crew’s journey was one of history’s great moments,
on a much less glorious scale, people the world over
undertake journeys into the unknown that are equally
as inspiring. Today, over 68.5 million people are
displaced globally. But the world seems weary
of their plight and too complacent – we just get
on with our own lives. This month’s bonus read,
‘Crossing to Europe’ (page 120) portrays the
journey of two sisters – one wheelchair bound –
who travelled from Syria to Germany to find a
safe future far from the perils of war. What they
discovered about human kindness along the
way is truly heartwarming.
LOUISE WATERSON
Editor-in-Chief