GODWIN RECALLS FIRST MOONWALK, LOOKS TO NASA's FUTURE

Thirty years ago, Linda Godwin was no different than millions of other Americans. She sat on the floor of her parent's living room with her sister, listened to Walter Cronkite and watched fluttering black and white images of two men remote from her in all senses of the word.

"The thought of becoming an astronaut wasn't something I even considered at that point," said Godwin, who has since made three space shuttle flights. "I was from a small town in the Midwest, so the thought just didn't enter my mind because it didn't seem possible."

On July 20, 1969, Godwin was a 17-year-old awaiting her senior year at Jackson High School. It wouldn't be until 1977, when NASA hired its first women astronauts and created science technician positions, that Godwin would change her mind.

But it still took NASA until 1985, five years after it originally hired Godwin, to accept her into the astronaut program.

Now Godwin, with 633 hours in outer space, can reminisce about where NASA has been and contemplate where it's going.

"It's funny to talk about going to the moon, because that's something that we're discussing now," Godwin said. "At this point we're trying to determine what we could learn from it."

One drawback is technology. The equipment and intimate personal knowledge that went into the Saturn rocket is either too old or unavailable, Godwin said. It would have to be created from scratch.

Much information simply died with the earliest NASA scientists, Godwin said.

"If we could learn about the moon from the shuttle, it would be cheaper," she said.

Thoughts that intrigue NASA scientists include using the moon as a base for astronomy or a midway landing point for a manned journey to Mars, Godwin said.

These are much different objectives than what pushed NASA toward the first moonwalk, she said.

"Back then, it was driven by the politics of the day," she said. "We had to keep up with the Russians."

Regardless of whether a repeat performance ever comes, the effects of the moonwalk are still present in everyday life. Miniaturization that has led to hand held calculators, personal computers and a litany of household devices came from NASA figuring ways to squeeze technology into space capsules, Godwin said.

Continued space exploration will lead to more innovations, she said.

Since the atmosphere in space speeds up the aging process, it becomes a laboratory for studying bone mineral loss, deceased immunity and other factors associated with aging.

As scientists look for ways to get beyond the moon to Mars, engines that produce better propulsion with higher quality fuels come into being, she said.

"The space program lets us learn more about our own bodies and our planet," Godwin said.