"A voyage by men to the moon and back has become inevitable," says a NASA official. Already lunar probes have made the course from earth to the moon a much-travelled route. at speeds faster than anyone has ever travelled before. And the journey will have the backing of by far the most thorough preparations and the most numerous rehearsals that ever preceded any venture of man. Hundreds of thousands of American scientists, engineers, technologists and other workers have contributed to America's space programme since it began more than ten years ago. These preparations are making this once visionary goal not only possible, but as one American space official recently remarked, "A voyage by men to the moon and back has become inevitable." The giant Saturn-5 rocket, capable of hurtling spacecraft or other payloads weighing more than 100 tons into earth orbit, has been built and tested. The Apollo spacecraft-with its cone-shaped Command Module in which astronauts will live during the moon journey, and the cylinder-shaped Service Module containing equipment and supplies-also is completed. So is the craft's prime appendage known as the Lunar Module, a spiderlike metal structure, that will be detached as the craft orbits the moon, to ferry astronauts to the moon's surface and back. Meanwhile, fifty-five astronauts are in training in the United States. Nineteen of them have already gained spaceflight experience, and seven of these have been in space twice on separate missions. From this highly skilled pool of manpower will be drawn the crews for a series of preparatory flights to test the Apollo craft in orbit and to develop crew familiarity with its operations. Also from these men will eventually be selected the three who will make the first journey to the moon. Through visits by unmanned spacecraft, the moon is no longer a stranger and the course from earth to the moon has already become a much-travelled route. On July 31, 1964, the moon finally lost the privacy its distance and isolation had given it since time began. It was on that day that the U.S. spacecraft Ranger-7, after a sixty-eight-hour flight from earth, approached the vicinity of the moon, and, on radio command from earth, began operating its six cameras. During its approach to the moon, it sent back to earth a series of 4,316 high-quality photographs at successively closer range, with the last of these being snapped and transmitted only 2.3 seconds before the craft's impact and destruction on the moon's surface. Knowledge about tha(surface suddenly increased more than a thousand-fold. Two lIJ.oresuch U.S. Ranger spacecraft made similar approaches to the moon, boosting the total number of close-up photographs transmitted to earth to 17,259. By that time, U.S. scientists had built more advanced spacecraft for exploring the moon. In quick succession, in 1966 and 1967, the United States sent five Orbiter craft to fly around the moon at low altitudes and photograph almost its entire surface including the far side. They provided more knowledge about the moon than astronomers had been able to gather in all the preceding centuries. Meanwhile, the U.S. Surveyor craft were built for soft-landing on the moon and inspecting its surface. The first of these Surveyor craft sent more than 11,000 close-range photographs to earth. Since then, other Surveyor craft, equipped with mechanical arms, have dug up small portions of moon soil, have examined its texture, and have chemically analysed it.
The Orbiter photographs combined with the Ranger and Surveyor information have enabled U.S. scientists to prepare maps showing amazing detail of nearly all areas of ~he moon. With these maps, U.S. space officials will be able to select suitable landing sites for astronauts. On earth, meanwhile, scientists are using computers and other equipment to simulate every conceivable aspect of the moon flight. Research and training devices have been designed which duplicate the Apollo spaceship and provide an environment similar to that which will be encountered by it during every phase of the moon flight. For even more realistic simulation, two earth-orbital flights in the Apollo spacecraft, with full crews of three men aboard, are scheduled for 1968. Five more such flights are planned for 1969. These will be "lunar mission development flights" and on the last
A political glossary Climb on the bandwagon: To throw one's support to a candidate who appears likely to win an election. "After it became apparent that Smith would win, everyone climbed on the bandwagon." Caucus: A conference held by convention delegates or political leaders to determine strategy or discuss candidates. In a general sense, a caucus is a meeting of a group of politically-int~rested people seeking to work out a common plan for action. The word is believed to derive from an American Indian term meaning "to advise, to urge." Ride in on his coattails: To benefit in an election from a decisive victory by a leading candidate of one's own party. Officeseekers who win by narrow margins while a more popular candidate enjoys a large plurality are said to have "ridden in on his coattails."
George Wallace's American Independence Party. Former Governor of Alabama and an avowed segregationist, Mr. Wallace,far left, is attempting to place his party on the ballots of as many States as possible with himself as the party's candidate for the Presidency. He apparently hopes to deny a majority of electoral votes to either the Republican or Democratic candidates, forcing a decision by the U.S. House of Representatives and then throwing his support to the candidate who will pledge to advance his views. But an election has been deadlocked only twice in American history-the last was in 1824-and most political observers believe that one of the major party candidates will emerge victorious. Mr. Wallace is serious, however, and his strenuous efforts are being' closely observed.
Favourite son: A candidate at a national convention who is supported by the delegates of his own State. A favourite son usually is nominated only on a convention's first ballot; subsequently he withdraws and gives his support to one of the leading candidates. Keynote address: A speech given early in a convention to promote the delegates' enthusiasm. It is always given by an important figure who is called the "Keynoter." It stems from the musical term meaning the note or tone upon which a key or system of tones is founded. To vote a straight ticket: To vote for the candidates of one party only. When a voter divides his ballot between candidates for various offices from two or more parties, he is said to vote a "split ticket." Whistle stop: A small town along a railroad line where the train does not regularly stop but merely blows its whistle. Until recent elections, it was common practice for campaigning Presidential candidates to travel about the country by train, pausing briefly at "whistle stops" to speak from the rear platform of the train.
The memory of Helen Keller, who died three months ago, is enriched by this warm, personal account of a nine-week tour of India taken with Miss Keller in 1955. In her narration of day-to-day happenings, Miss Ann Samson of New Delhi paints a vivid portrait of Helen Keller-brave, wise, learned, but above all, human.
With
Helen Keller in India by Ann Samson as told to Carmen Kagaf
ON THE EVENING of February 20, 1955, my sister and I were sitting on the steps of my cottage in the Lady Irwin College grounds when the mali came to ask for some flowers which were to be presented to a guest. I asked, "Who are they for? Is the person young or old, a man or a woman?" But he said all he knew was that they were for a very important visitor from abroad. So I told him to take some violets and sweet peas, and of these he made a lovely fragrant bouquet. The next morning when I opened the newspaper I saw a front-page picture in which the bouquet was being presented to Helen Keller. "Why didn't they tell me?" I thought, "Why didn't I know? For Helen Keller I would have gone to the airport even in the middle of the night. I hope there will be some chance of meeting her." When my sister saw how disturbed I was, she said to me, "You never know. You've wished so hard, maybe your wish will be granted." By one of the strangest coincidences, within fifteen minutes there was a call from the Assistant Red Cross Commissioner asking if I could be free for three days to assist Helen Keller, who had arrived in New Delhi the previous evening. She was a guest of the Ministry of Education and had come to India to stimulate awareness about the plight of the blind. The Ministry had asked the Red Cross to provide a suitable
assistant, and since I had done voluntary work for the Red Cross before, I was being asked for my services now. My first reaction was, "Why me?" But I didn't let that bother me for too long. I left a note for the principal of Lady Irwin College, where I was-and still am-a lecturer in food and nutrition, and within an hour I was at Hyderabad House where Helen Keller and her companion Miss Polly Thomson had been installed. As I waited for them I grew nervous wondering if I would be overawed by the fact that she was a great world figure, wondering how I would communicate with someone who was blind, deaf and mute. (She never liked the word "dumb." "When someone says you're dumb, it means you have no brains.") Just then Miss Keller came out, looking cool and calm in her blue dress. We were introduced. She felt my face all over, kissed me welcome and said, "This is Ann." From that moment onwards, we were Helen, Polly and Ann. My duties started Immediately. I rearranged things so Helen and Polly could share a bedroom, cleared away all unnecessary furniture so she could move around freely, and set up her typewriter on a special writing table. That evening Helen asked me repeatedly to stay the night, but I had a strong 1?remonition that I should return to my house. When I got home I fO'und a telegram telling me that my only
brother in India had passed away. Sad though I was, I told the news to no one. But as soon as I went to Helen the next morning, she said, "Ann, you are heavy-hearted." I was amazed and turning to Polly I asked what she meant. "Have you had bad news?" asked Polly. "Yes," I said, "I learned yesterday that my brother had died." When Polly told Helen what had happened, she caught both my hands in hers and said, "Ann, you are doing your duty, just as I did mine." She then told me a story of her early life when hard times forced her and "Teacher" (Anne Sullivan) to go on the vaudeville stage and answer questions from the a udience. "Just before the performance one evening," she said, "I got news that my mother had died. But the show must go on-so I went onstage. One of the questions that day was 'Are you happy?' And I answered, 'Yes, I am,' but my heart was as heavy as lead." . My first formal task was to take dictation of Helen's speech for the civic reception in Delhi. Her speech was turbidthough it had taken her twenty-five years to learn to articulate, some of her words were strange, guttural sounds which many people had difficulty following. But if one was sympathetic, one could follow her every word. I typed out the speech, and at the reception that afternoon I was about to hand her a copy, little thinking that she