DATE=6/4/99 TYPE=ENGLISH PROGRAMS FEATURE NUMBER=7-32161 TITLE=DATELINE MOON: 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST LUNAR WALK BYLINE=KEMING KUO TELEPHONE=619-0936 DATELINE=WASHINGTON EDITOR=NANCY SMART CONTENT= INTRO: ASTRONAUT NEIL ARMSTRONG IS BEST KNOWN AS THE FIRST HUMAN TO WALK ON THE MOON. BUT HE ALSO SHOULD BE RECOGNIZED FOR TAKING SOME OF THE WORLD'S BEST-KNOWN PHOTOGRAPHS. IT WAS ASTRONAUT ARMSTRONG WHO TOOK THE PICTURE OF FELLOW MOONWALKER EDWIN "BUZZ" ALDRIN IN HIS SPACE SUIT WITH THE LUNAR LANDSCAPE REFLECTED IN HIS VISOR. SUCH ICONIC IMAGES OF THE HISTORIC APOLLO LUNAR MISSIONS FORM THE CENTERPIECE OF A NEW EXHIBIT ABOUT MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE EFFORT TO LAND ON THE MOON, ENTITLED "DATELINE MOON," AT THE NEWSEUM IN ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA. THE OPENING OF THE EXHIBIT -- WITH BUZZ ALDRIN ON HAND -- COINCIDES WITH THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST LUNAR WALK. ___________ HAS DETAILS. TEXT: "DATELINE: MOON" -- THE BIGGEST EXHIBIT THE NEWSEUM HAS EVER MOUNTED -- BEGINS WITH A DISPLAY OF HOW POPULAR MAGAZINES OF THE 1950S, SUCH AS COLLIER'S, ENVISIONED WHAT SPACE TRAVEL MIGHT BE LIKE. IN ANOTHER HALL OF THE NEWSEUM -- A MUSEUM ABOUT THE NEWS -- ARE THE FRONT PAGES OF 150 NEWSPAPERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD ABOUT MAN'S FIRST STEPS ON THE MOON, JULY 20, 1969. THE NEWSEUM'S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, JOE URSCHEL [ERR-SHUL], SAYS THE NEWSPAPER DISPLAY PROVIDES VISITORS WITH INSIGHTS INTO HOW THE POLITICAL PERSPECTIVES OF VARIOUS COUNTRIES INFLUENCED COVERAGE OF THE HISTORIC AMERICAN ACCOMPLISHMENT. TAPE: CUT ONE -- URSCHEL :29 "ON THE SURFACE, EVERY FRONT PAGE SEEMS PRETTY MUCH THE SAME. LOCAL AND REGIONAL ISSUES TEND TO RECEDE. YET EACH IS UNIQUE. U.S. PAPERS TEND TO PLAY UP THE 'AMERICAN ON THE MOON' ANGLE, WHILE THE EDITORS OF [THE LEFTIST NEWSPAPER] HUMANITE', IN FRANCE, KEPT THE WORDS 'UNITED STATES' OFF THE FRONT PAGE ALL TOGETHER. PRAVDA IN MOSCOW GAVE MORE PLAY TO THE JULY 17TH LUNAR LANDING OF THE SOVIET UNION'S UNMANNED PROBE LUNA 15." TEXT: THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE EXHIBIT "DATELINE: MOON" CONSISTS OF 36 PHOTOGRAPHS FROM APOLLO MISSIONS. THE PHOTOGRAPHS WERE SELECTED FROM 129 PICTURES CONTAINED IN A NEW BOOK, "FULL MOON," EDITED BY MICHAEL LIGHT. MR. LIGHT SPENT FOUR YEARS SIFTING THROUGH 32,000 IMAGES IN NASA'S ARCHIVES. HE SAYS SOME OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE APOLLO ASTRONAUTS ARE AMONG THE BEST-KNOWN PICTURES IN THE WORLD. BUT PARADOXICALLY, HE SAYS, MOST OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS ARE VIRTUALLY UNKNOWN. TAPE: CUT TWO -- LIGHT :14 "PEOPLE SEEM TO BE REDISCOVERING THE MOON. NINETY PERCENT OF THE PEOPLE WHO LOOK AT MY BOOK SAY -- AND THESE ARE ADULTS WHO LIVED THROUGH THE APOLLO EXPERIENCE -- 'MY GOODNESS, I HAD NO IDEA! ..." TEXT: [OPT] ALSO ON VIEW AT THE NEWSEUM ARE CONTINUOUS SHOWINGS OF HIGHLIGHTS OF TELEVISION NEWS COVERAGE OF THE FIRST LUNAR LANDING -- INCLUDING NEIL ARMSTRONG'S FIRST STEPS ON THE MOON. [END OPT] AMONG THOSE ADMIRING THE PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBIT WAS ONE OF THE SUBJECTS OF SOME OF THE PICTURES, FORMER ASTRONAUT BUZZ ALDRIN. MR. ALDRIN NOTED THAT AT THE TIME OF THE FIRST LUNAR LANDING 30 YEARS AGO, HE AND HIS APOLLO 11 COLLEAGUES, NEIL ARMSTRONG AND MICHAEL COLLINS, FOCUSED ON THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF THE MISSION. AND IT'S ONLY BEEN IN THE PAST DECADE OR TWO -- WITH SOME HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE -- THAT HE'S BEEN ABLE TO COMPREHEND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HIS LUNAR WALK. TAPE: CUT THREE -- ALDRIN :33 "I LOOK BACK AT THOSE YEARS; I WAS KIND OF NAIVE. I WAS INTIMIDATED. I KNEW WHAT WE WERE DOING, CERTAINLY. IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT. BUT THE IMPACT IT WOULD HAVE -- AND WHAT THE CONSEQUENCES WOULD BE OF THAT -- TOOK THE EXPRESSIONS OF OUR INFORMATION AGE AND THE COMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY, WHICH HAS BURGEONED SO MUCH IN THE LAST 50 YEARS. IT TOOK THAT [DEVELOPMENT] TO REALLY TELL THE STORY." TEXT: BUZZ ALDRIN SAYS WHEN HE MEETS PEOPLE FROM AROUND THE WORLD, THEY REGALE HIM WITH STORIES ABOUT WHERE THEY WERE AT THE TIME OF THE FIRST LUNAR LANDING. SUCH PUBLIC REACTION LED MR. ALDRIN TO SUGGEST WRYLY THAT HE AND NEIL ARMSTRONG MAY HAVE MISSED THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE MOON WALK. TAPE: CUT FOUR -- ALDRIN :29 "I TELL THE STORY FREQUENTLY ABOUT COMING BACK IN THE LUNAR RECEIVING LAB AND SEEING VIDEOS OF THE REACTION WHEN WE TOUCHED DOWN ON THE MOON. AND I TOLD NEIL [ARMSTRONG], 'NEIL, LOOK UP THERE. WE MISSED THE WHOLE THING!' BECAUSE THE ACTION THAT WAS IMPORTANT -- THE SIGNIFICANCE -- WAS HERE (ON EARTH). IT WAS NOT THE ROCKS WE BROUGHT BACK, OR ALL THESE TECHNICAL ASPECTS, OR THE THINGS WE SAID. BUT IT WAS, 'WHAT IMPACT DID THIS HAVE ON PEOPLE WORLDWIDE?' MILLIONS OF PEOPLE." TEXT: THE PUBLIC INTEREST IN SPACE EXPLORATION HAS LED MR. ALDRIN TO PUSH FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLES -- WHICH COULD EVENTUALLY ALLOW CIVILIANS TO EXPERIENCE SPACE TRAVEL. TAPE: CUT FIVE -- ALDRIN :19 "THOSE PEOPLE, I'M CONVINCED, WANT A SENSE OF PARTICIPATION IN THE SPACE PROGRAM. THEY DON'T WANT TO SEE GOVERNMENT PEOPLE COMING BACK SHOWING THEM PICTURES, OR GOVERNMENT PEOPLE TELLING THEM WHAT IT IS. THEY'RE TAXPAYERS. THEY'VE CONTRIBUTED TO THIS PROGRAM FOR A LONG TIME. AND I THINK THEY DESERVE TO HAVE ADVENTURE TRAVEL AS SOMETHING THAT'S PART OF THEIR LIVES." TEXT: BUZZ ALDRIN, THE SECOND HUMAN TO WALK ON THE MOON, HELPED OPEN THE EXHIBIT "DATELINE: MOON," AT THE NEWSEUM IN ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA. "DATELINE: MOON" EXPLORES MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE FIRST LANDING AND WALK ON THE MOON, WHICH TOOK PLACE [OPT] NEARLY [END OPT] 30 YEARS AGO. (SIGNED) NEB/KK/NES 04-Jun-99 5:03 PM EDT (2103 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .