NASA reference in EOTW?

[ssgcmwatson]

I was re-listening to Eye of the World tonight, and this caught my ear:

 

Quote

“Tell us about Lenn,” Egwene called. “How he flew to the moon in the belly of an eagle made of fire. Tell about his daughter Salya walking among the stars.”

And then I started wondering if this was a reference, filtered through the ages, of Neil Armstrong / Apollo 11, and Sally Ride.