" I actually don’t remember Apollo 11 exactly because, at the time, I was five years old. The landing happened at night, and the walk on the moon happened at night eastern time, and I asked my parents; my mom said I was probably asleep, and so I just don’t have any recollection. I do have recollection of the later missions to the moon. "
- Julie Payette

In the given statement, Julie Payette reflects on her personal experience with one of history’s most monumental achievements: the Apollo 11 moon landing. She explains that at age five, she was too young to remember this event clearly, since it occurred during nighttime when she was likely asleep. However, she does recall later lunar missions more vividly.

This quote delves deeper into themes of memory and the subjective nature of historical events. Payette’s statement highlights how significant moments can fade from personal memory if they occur outside our waking hours or at a young age when we lack the context to fully grasp their importance. It also underscores the idea that people often form clearer memories around later, more frequent experiences, which in her case were subsequent moon missions rather than the groundbreaking first landing.

The speaker of this quote is Julie Payette, a Canadian astronaut and engineer who has made significant contributions to space exploration. As a veteran of two Space Shuttle missions, she brings both technical expertise and personal insight into human spaceflight history.