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I composed this tune mid 2004, commemorating the 35th anniversary of the landing of men from Earth on the Moon. The inspiration for this composition came from videos and photos which the Apollo astronauts took of the Earth rising over the Moon horizon when orbiting the moon. As you listen to this song, please imaging yourself sitting in lounge chair at the Sea of Tranquility on the Moon and instead of watching a sunrise, you are contemplating an Earthrise.

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My thought's on this are that the awe-inspiring creation of God that is Earth is manifested by its hypnotizing view from space. If we were to be visited by beings from another planet (or dimension), as they approach Earth from space, they would become captivated by its full-color splendor. Since from space you cannot see any boundaries drawn between countries on Earth, they would presume a peaceful, conservationist people must inhabit such a wondrous planet. We know how far from the truth this is because of our national, political, religious, cultural and ideological differences, as well as our apathy towards the environment.

If all the leaders of the world were to travel together in a spacecraft to the Moon and see the Earth from there, perhaps they may change their perspective about our coexistence on our planet and figure out ways for us all to live and prosper together in peace and harmony while protection the environment. ...Or not, in which case we can always leave them up there on the Moon.

Astronauts' Impressions

Here are some of the Apollo Astronauts' impressions on viewing the Earth from the Moon:

"The view of the earth from the moon fascinated me —a small disk, 240,000 miles away. It was hard to think that little thing held so many frustrations. Raging nationalistic interests, famines, wars, pestilence don't show from that distance....If some stranger came from another part of the heavens, he would certainly know instinctively ...that the destinies of all who lived on it must inevitably be interwoven and joined. We are one hunk of ground, water, air, clouds, floating around in space. From out there it really is one world."

— Frank Borman, commander of Apollo 8, the first lunar mission.

"The soft, glowing presence of planet Earth in the black abyss had a pristine clarity uncaptured by photographs. Images on film lack the subtle shades, the brightness, and the depth of the living sphere, which bulged out of the blackness as I sailed outward on Apollo 11... From the deep blue of the Mediterranean, all of Europe and Africa sprawled away in soft pastels, innocent of political boundaries. And from the surface of the moon, where I could cover with my thumb the site of all human history, the Earth seemed fragile as a Christmas ornament, drifting like a lost balloon on the black velvet of space. The image of a living Earth, capable of extinction, disarms illusions of individual or tribal isolation. We gained more than altitude in those 66 years from Kitty Hawk to the moon. Seeing Earth not as an extension of man, but man as an extension of Earth."

— Buzz Aldrin, lunar-module pilot of Apollo 11.

"It was something so awe-inspiring you had to sneak a glance at it every chance you got." ...[Seeing the Earth from that vantage point convinced him it must have been created by a higher power.]... "It's too beautiful to have happened by accident. To me, it was like sitting on God's back porch, looking back home."

— Gene Cernan, Commander Apollo 10.

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