Gareth O'Callaghan: The sense of childlike curiosity when we look up to the skies is magic

As a small boy, I had no idea about the scientific genius and innovation that went into making the Moon landing a success

A view of the Moon from Nasa’s Orion Spacecraft earlier this month. Picture: Nasa/AP

July 21, 1969. It was after four in the morning when I held my father’s hand as we stood in the dark in our back garden and stared into the clear night sky. I was only eight years old, but already I shared his lifelong curiosity about the planets, and how someone had told me that we dance among the stars after we die.

Earlier, we watched live the grainy black and white television images of two men, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, as they climbed down from the LM Eagle, having just landed in the beautifully-named Sea of Tranquillity. After years of planning, they walked on the moon.