As the world was observing the 50th anniversary of the outbound part of Apollo 11’s journey this week, the Bank of England announced that the mathematician Alan Turing is to be depicted on forthcoming 50-pound notes. I am probably not the first to notice that this is secretly just one news story in two different forms. Turing is remembered for his contributions to computing and for his role in Allied cryptanalysis during the Second World War.
The series of rocket-engine burns you have to make to put down a lunar lander is pretty tricky. The engine has to have a throttle so you can run it wide open, in order to brake from lunar orbit, but also operate at very low and gentle thrusts a few minutes later, when you are trying to manage that last couple hundred feet. In the meantime the lunar module is undergoing complicated rotations to change the direction of thrust.
There are many people now claiming credit for the lunar landing, it’s a wonder we know who these guys are.
Yes I see that. Well done.