Lessons from Apollo: Data uplink

You must have experienced this situation one time or the other. You need to drop off two or more folks at different destinations, and you have discussed about it. Then, a short while later, all of you get in the vehicle. As you go half the distance, one of the persons exclaims, “Hey, you took the wrong turn! I was supposed to go over there!!”

“But..” You say, puzzled, “Didn’t we discuss that you would be going here ?”

“Nooo…”, says he (but usually it is a 'she' in such cases)… “That was the ORIGINAL plan, but afterwards I changed my mind and now I want to go there… I thought you knew it, or did I forget to tell?”

This scenario can be just a minor irritation, or it may turn into a full-fledged sledging contest. Is there any solution?

It turns out that the answer lies in the launch sequence of Saturn V, the mighty rocket that launched Apollo spacecraft towards Moon.

The rocket as well as the spacecraft had guidance and navigation maps pre-loaded into their computers. However, just a couple of minutes before the lift-off, there was a final data uplink from launch control center to Saturn V - Apollo, which updated their guidance and navigation systems with latest information.

So, That’s what you do, too. Just before you turn on the ignition key, casually narrate the sequence of stoppages or the route you intend to take, and only after all the participants give you a GO, fire up your F1 engines.

Apollo 11

Which event would you consider as the highlight of 20th century? Which event do you think represents humanity at its best? Which event would you have liked to witness in real life?
These are all subjective questions, and there would be a variety of answers to each one. 
For me, it would be that moment on 20th July 1969 when Neil Armstrong, US astronaut and commander of Apollo-11 mission, stepped off the lunar module Eagle and planted the first footprint on the Moon. 
That moment marked a successful culmination of decade-long hard work, blood,sweat, tears, and life sacrifice by astronauts, the flight control, and the 4 lakh men and women who worked day and night,often at the cost of their personal lives and relationships, to achieve the goal set by their charismatic president John F Kennedy. Today is the 49th anniversary of this historic event.
My fascination with NASA in general and Mercury-Gemini-Apollo missions in particular began around the age of 15 years, when my father handed me a rare edition of Imprint magazine titled "Voyage to the Moon: The Story of Apollo-11". Not only did I finish it within a month, I also translated it into Marathi, but only up to the point where I couldn't think of the perfect words to capture the essence of first words by Armstrong as he stepped on the Moon: "That's one small step for a man, a giant leap for mankind." And, even today 20 year later, I still haven't.
During this Golden Jubilee year (2018-2019) of Apollo-11 mission, I plan to specifically focus on searching, collecting and reading all the available literature on this subject, be it astronaut biographies, flight journals, NASA technical reference manuals, and so on. Wherever possible and per my ability, I will endeavour to review them.
Neither Neil Armstrong, the first man to step on the Moon, nor Eugene Cernan, the last man to leave it, are with us today. Mankind must continue the space exploration that they pioneered; and I really hope to see humans landing on Mars during our lifetime.
Take a moment to step out of the house and look up at the Moon tonight. It looks so far, and yet reaching it represents just venturing just a bit beyond our doorstep. The vast space still beckons us.