Gagarin vs Armstrong---a silly debate. ESA and Gagarin.

        One circled the earth for 108 minutes, and became the first man to fly into space. The other became the first to step on to the surface of the moon, uttering the memorable words: ``One Small Step For Man, But Giant Leap For Mankind.''

        Who are they?

        One is Yuri Gagarin and the other is Neil Armstrong. One a Russian and the other an American. They belong to two countries, which were arch Cold War rivals when Gagarin and Armstrong made history. They present a picture of contrasts------one extremely communicative, while the other is recluse.

        Now 50 years after Gagarin circled the globe in his spacecraft on April 12,1961, a debate has started among a section of political analysts, blog writers and space historians as to whose achievement is greater---Gagarin's or Armstrong's?  The question being asked is---did Armstrong overshadow Gagarin or vice versa?

       According to some, the US having lost the initial space race is now trying to prove that it ultimately won the competition by putting the first man on the moon!

       In the opinion of  ``Beyond Moon and Mars (BMM)''  this is indeed a very silly and trival topic to analyse and debate about. This is a meaningless exercise being carried out by only those who have a lot of time to spare and enjoy a considerable amount of leisure.

       Their achievements are equal because, apart from various technical, scientific and engineeering factors, one took the risk of being the first to enter space, and the other took the risk of being the first stand on the surface of the moon. Both were equally risky and, therefore, both deserve equal credit. To say  one's achievement is greater than the other's is therefore baseless.

       One showed that man can go into space and the other showed that man can stand on the surface of the moon. While praising one, let us not run down the other. This is an unfair comparision being done only by those who have little knowledge about space technology. 

       In conclusion, let us not waste our time trying to compare the achievements of Gagarin and Armstrong. Both broke new records and both deserve equal credit.

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       While it is unfair to compare Gagarin and Armstrong, it is worth comparing the special section devoted Gagarin in both the NASA and European Space Agency's  (ESA) website.

       While Nasa commemorated the 50th anniversary of the first human space mission with a video, a photo gallery and feature, it is undoubtedly no comparision to the one produced by ESA.

       The ESA section is packed with information and undoubtedly much better than that of Nasa's. Those behind have really taken a lot of trouble.

       For those keen to know more about Gagarin, they should access ESA's section.

       The Japanese Space Exploration Agency (Jaxa) has devoted a small part to the anniversary.

       And as far as Isro is concerned.

       Nothing!