‘I watched Apollo 17 launch with Neil Armstrong’
In December 1972, 16-year-old Preston schoolboy Dermot Gethings was selected for a NASA trip to witness Apollo 17 launch, the final crewed lunar landing mission. His account shows how a young astronomy enthusiast from Lancashire found himself close to major figures in the Space Race and experienced a historic launch first-hand.
Gethings was one of 16 UK students interviewed by the US Embassy, and one of 80 young people from around the world invited on NASA’s first and only International Youth Science Tour. The 19-day trip included visits to NASA facilities across 12 states, a White House dinner and an unexpected meeting with Neil Armstrong; Gethings watched the launch from about three miles away, alongside Armstrong.
- A Preston teenager watched Apollo 17 launch in 1972.
- Dermot Gethings met Neil Armstrong during the trip.
- NASA’s tour took 80 students around the United States.
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Apollo 17, which launched in December 1972, was the final crewed mission to land on the Moon. The Apollo programme represented the peak of the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Dermot Gethings was a 16-year-old astronomy enthusiast from Preston when he was selected as one of only 80 young people globally invited on NASA's first and only International Youth Science Tour. The three-week trip took participants to NASA facilities across multiple American states and included a visit to the White House.
Such direct access to the space programme was remarkable for a schoolboy in the early 1970s, particularly the opportunity to witness a major rocket launch first-hand and encounter the figures who shaped the Space Race. The experience captured a moment when space exploration was at the forefront of public imagination and international ambition.