| Apollo 11 anniversary | |
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 President George H.W. Bush and the Apollo 11 astronauts | |
| Status | Active |
| Genre | anniversary |
| Begins | July 16 |
| Ends | July 20 |
| Frequency | Quinquennially |
| Country | United States |
| Years active | 48 |
| Inaugurated | July 16, 1974 |
| Founder | NASA |
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| Part of a series on |
| Apollo 11 |
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Apollo 11 was the first human spaceflight to land on the Moon. In the decades after its 1969 mission took place, widespread celebrations have been held to celebrate its anniversaries.
The Apollo 11 crew, Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, and Michael Collins, who had not appeared publicly since the 5th anniversary, participated in ceremonies in Washington, D.C., on July 20, 1979. [1]
A model rocket launch, closed to the public due to the explosives involved, occurred at Kennedy Space Center in 1984. [2]
On the 20th anniversary in 1989, President George H. W. Bush announced plans to return to the Moon and then to Mars, known as the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI). [3]
The USPS released a stamp designed by Chris Calle, son of Paul Calle, the artist that designed the Apollo 11 stamp issued in 1969. [4] [5] The $2.40 priority mail stamp depicts two astronauts planting a flag on the Moon. Living people cannot be featured on US stamps, but the faces of the astronauts are obscured by their visors. [6] It was released July 20 at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. [7]
On July 16, 1994, NASA held a replay of the countdown and launched scale models of the Saturn rocket. The Apollo 11 astronauts declined to attend. They had attended the event five years prior. [8]
The United States Postal Service (USPS) issued two stamps, a 29 cent vertical stamp and a $9.95 express mail stamp, [9] to commemorate the anniversary. [10] The 29 cent stamp depicts an astronaut saluting a flag on the Moon; the express mail stamp shows a zoomed-out version of the same scene. [8] They were designed by Paul and Chris Calle. [8] The stamp design was unveiled July 20 by Aldrin in Washington. [11]
The Apollo 11 crew accepted an invitation to the White House on July 21 to celebrate the event. President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, First Lady Hillary Clinton, and other members of Apollo flight crews were among the attendees. [12]
PBS released a documentary, Apollo 13: To the Edge and Back. [13]
On the 30th anniversary in 1999, Vice-President Al Gore awarded the astronauts with the Langley Gold Medal for aviation. This was the twenty-second time the award had been given out. [14] [15] The ceremony was held at the National Air and Space Museum. On receiving the medal, Armstrong said, "We the Apollo 11 crew are enormously appreciative of being asked to receive this Langley Medal and we do so on behalf of all the men and women of the Apollo program." [16]
Armstrong attended a banquet at Kennedy Space Center but declined to sign autographs or make a speech. Aldrin attended the event as well; Collins declined, as he was retired. [17] Aldrin held a public briefing on July 17 at the center. [18]
The USPS issued a 33-cent stamp as part of a series of stamps that commemorated events that occurred in the 1960s. [4] The stamp, named "Man Walks on Moon", is Scott catalogue number 3188e, and depicts Aldrin's lunar bootprint. [19] It was unveiled at Kennedy Space Center on July 17. [18]
Ground was broke at Kennedy Space Center for the Apollo Exhibit located in the U.S. Space Walk of Fame. [18] [20]
The National Air and Space Museum added two new exhibits: Armstrong and Aldrin's helmet and gloves, and the ability to operate a camera inside of the lunar module, allowing visitors to see inside the cockpit for the first time. [21]
On July 21, Aldrin was a keynote speaker at the unveiling of a Moon rock at the base of the Tribune Tower in Chicago, Illinois. This marked the first time NASA loaned a lunar sample to a private corporation rather than a school, museum, or planetarium. [22] The rock was removed in 2011 due to an outdated display. [23] A new rock display is planned but has not been installed as of 2018 [update] . [24]
The USS Hornet held a ten-day event called Moonfest 1999 at the museum. The event included NASA exhibits and evening astronomy. Aldrin, along with Carl Seilberlich, captain of the Hornet during recovery operations, attended the event on the 24th, the anniversary of the day of the recovery. [25] 17,000 visitors attended the event. [26]
On July 15, 2009, Life.com released a photo gallery of previously unpublished photos of the astronauts taken by Life photographer Ralph Morse prior to the Apollo 11 launch. [27] From July 16 to 24, 2009, NASA streamed the original mission audio on its website in real time 40 years to the minute after the events occurred. [28] In addition, it is in the process of restoring the video footage and has released a preview of key moments. [29] In July 2010, air-to-ground voice recordings and film footage shot in Mission Control during the Apollo 11 powered descent and landing was re-synchronized and released for the first time. [30] The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum set up an Adobe Flash website that rebroadcasts the transmissions of Apollo 11 from launch to landing on the Moon. [31]
On July 20, 2009, Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins met with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House. [32] "We expect that there is, as we speak, another generation of kids out there who are looking up at the sky and are going to be the next Armstrong, Collins, and Aldrin", Obama said. "We want to make sure that NASA is going to be there for them when they want to take their journey." [33] On August 7, 2009, an act of Congress awarded the three astronauts a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award in the United States. The bill was sponsored by Florida Senator Bill Nelson and Florida Representative Alan Grayson. [34] [35]
A group of British scientists interviewed as part of the anniversary events reflected on the significance of the Moon landing:
It was carried out in a technically brilliant way with risks taken ... that would be inconceivable in the risk-averse world of today ... The Apollo programme is arguably the greatest technical achievement of mankind to date ... nothing since Apollo has come close [to] the excitement that was generated by those astronauts – Armstrong, Aldrin and the 10 others who followed them. [36]
On July 21, 2014, the Kennedy Space Center Operations and Checkout building was renamed for Armstrong. Aldrin and Collins attended the ceremony. [37]
On June 10, 2015, Congressman Bill Posey introduced resolution H.R. 2726 to the 114th session of the United States House of Representatives directing the United States Mint to design and sell commemorative coins in gold, silver and clad for the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. On January 24, 2019, the Mint released the Apollo 11 50th Anniversary commemorative coins to the public on its website. [38] [39]
The USPS created two forever stamps to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the mission. The stamps were designed by Antonio Alcalá. [40] One stamp features the famous image that Armstrong took of Aldrin, with Armstrong visible in Aldrin's faceplate's reflection. The other stamp shows an image of the Moon, taken by Gregory H. Revera, [40] with the Apollo 11 landing site highlighted. [41] [42] The stamps were unveiled at Kennedy Space Center on July 19. Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart was among the celebrities present. [43]
The Smithsonian Institute's National Air and Space Museum and NASA sponsored the “Apollo 50 Festival” on the National Mall in Washington DC. The three day (July 18 to 20, 2019) outdoor festival featured hands-on exhibits and activities, live performances, and speakers such as Adam Savage and NASA scientists. [44]
As part of the festival was a projection of the 363-foot (111 m) tall Saturn V rocket on the east face of the 555-foot (169 m) tall Washington Monument from July 16 through the 20th from 9:30 pm until 11:30 pm (EDT). There was also a 17-minute show that combined full-motion video projected on the Washington Monument to recreate the assembly and launch of the Saturn V rocket. The projection was combined with a 40-foot (12 m) wide recreation of the Kennedy Space Center countdown clock and two large video screens showing archival footage to recreate the time leading up to the Moon landing. The shows were at 9:30 pm, 10:30 pm, and 11:30 pm on Friday, July 19, and Saturday, July 20, with the 10:30 pm show on Saturday delayed slightly so the portion of the show where Neil Armstrong first set foot on the Moon would happen exactly 50 years to the second after the actual event (10:56:15 EDT). [45]
A documentary film, Apollo 11 , with restored footage of the 1969 event, premiered in IMAX on March 1, 2019, and broadly in theaters on March 8. [46] [47]
On July 19, 2019, the Google Doodle paid tribute to the Apollo 11 Moon Landing, complete with a link to an animated YouTube video with voiceover by astronaut Michael Collins. [48] [49]
Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, Rick Armstrong (Neil's son), Mark Armstrong (Rick's son), and others were hosted by President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. [50] Trump had also honored Aldrin, Gene Kranz, and the Apollo 11 mission in the 2019 State of the Union Address and the 2019 Salute to America event at the National Mall. [51] [52]
Apollo 11 was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, and Armstrong became the first person to step onto the Moon's surface six hours and 39 minutes later, on July 21 at 02:56 UTC. Aldrin joined him 19 minutes later, and they spent about two and a quarter hours together exploring the site they had named Tranquility Base upon landing. Armstrong and Aldrin collected 47.5 pounds (21.5 kg) of lunar material to bring back to Earth as pilot Michael Collins flew the Command Module Columbia in lunar orbit, and were on the Moon's surface for 21 hours, 36 minutes before lifting off to rejoin Columbia.
The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the third United States human spaceflight program carried out by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which succeeded in preparing and landing the first humans on the Moon from 1968 to 1972. It was first conceived in 1960 during President Dwight D. Eisenhower's administration as a three-person spacecraft to follow the one-person Project Mercury, which put the first Americans in space. Apollo was later dedicated to President John F. Kennedy's national goal for the 1960s of "landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth" in an address to Congress on May 25, 1961. It was the third US human spaceflight program to fly, preceded by the two-person Project Gemini conceived in 1961 to extend spaceflight capability in support of Apollo.
Apollo 13 was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo space program and the third meant to land on the Moon. The craft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, but the lunar landing was aborted after an oxygen tank in the service module (SM) failed two days into the mission. The crew instead looped around the Moon in a circumlunar trajectory and returned safely to Earth on April 17. The mission was commanded by Jim Lovell, with Jack Swigert as command module (CM) pilot and Fred Haise as Lunar Module (LM) pilot. Swigert was a late replacement for Ken Mattingly, who was grounded after exposure to rubella.
Neil Alden Armstrong was an American astronaut and aeronautical engineer who became the first person to walk on the Moon in 1969. He was also a naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor.
Buzz Aldrin is an American former astronaut, engineer and fighter pilot. He made three spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission. He was the Lunar Module Eagle pilot on the 1969 Apollo 11 mission and became the second person to walk on the Moon after mission commander Neil Armstrong.
Michael Collins was an American astronaut who flew the Apollo 11 command module Columbia around the Moon in 1969 while his crewmates, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, made the first crewed landing on the surface. He was also a test pilot and major general in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.
Alan LaVern Bean was an American naval officer and aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, NASA astronaut and painter. He was selected to become an astronaut by NASA in 1963 as part of Astronaut Group 3, and was the fourth person to walk on the Moon.
David Randolph Scott is an American retired test pilot and NASA astronaut who was the seventh person to walk on the Moon. Selected as part of the third group of astronauts in 1963, Scott flew to space three times and commanded Apollo 15, the fourth lunar landing; he is one of four surviving Moon walkers and the only living commander of a spacecraft that landed on the Moon.
James Arthur Lovell Jr. is an American retired astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot and mechanical engineer. In 1968, as command module pilot of Apollo 8, he became, with Frank Borman and William Anders, one of the first three astronauts to fly to and orbit the Moon. He then commanded the Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970 which, after a critical failure en route, circled the Moon and returned safely to Earth.
Project Gemini was NASA's second human spaceflight program. Conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, Gemini started in 1961 and concluded in 1966. The Gemini spacecraft carried a two-astronaut crew. Ten Gemini crews and 16 individual astronauts flew low Earth orbit (LEO) missions during 1965 and 1966.
Tranquility Base is the site on the Moon where, in July 1969, humans landed and walked on a celestial body other than Earth for the first time. On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 crewmembers Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed their Apollo Lunar Module Eagle at approximately 20:17:40 UTC. Armstrong exited the spacecraft six hours and 39 minutes after touchdown, followed 19 minutes later by Aldrin. The astronauts spent two hours and 31 minutes examining and photographing the lunar surface, setting up several scientific experiment packages, and collecting 47.5 pounds (21.5 kg) of dirt and rock samples for return to Earth. They lifted off the surface on July 21 at 17:54 UTC.
The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is the visitor center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida. It features exhibits and displays, historic spacecraft and memorabilia, shows, two IMAX theaters, and a range of bus tours of the spaceport. The "Space Shuttle Atlantis" exhibit contains the Atlantis orbiter and the Shuttle Launch Experience, a simulated ride into space. The center also provides astronaut training experiences, including a multi-axial chair and Mars Base simulator. The visitor complex also has daily presentations from a veteran NASA astronaut. A bus tour, included with admission, encompasses the separate Apollo/Saturn V Center. There were 1.7 million visitors to the visitor complex in 2016.
Apollo 11 was the first human spaceflight to land on the Moon. The 1969 mission's wide effect on popular culture has resulted in numerous portrayals of Apollo 11 and its crew, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins.
Apollo 11 is a television docudrama film which aired on November 17, 1996 on The Family Channel. It was nominated for a Primetime Emmy.
With the advent of robotic and human spaceflight a new era of American history had presented itself. Keeping with the tradition of honoring the country's history on U.S. postage stamps, the U.S. Post Office began commemorating the various events with its commemorative postage stamp issues. The first U.S. Postage issue to depict a U.S. space vehicle was issued in 1948, the Fort Bliss issue. The first issue to commemorate a space project by name was the ECHO I communications satellite commemorative issue of 1960. Next was the Project Mercury issue of 1962. As U.S. space exploration progressed a variety of other commemorative issues followed, many of which bear accurate depictions of satellites, space capsules, Apollo Lunar Modules, space suits, and other items of interest.
The Apollo 11 50th Anniversary commemorative coins were issued by the United States Mint in 2019 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first crewed landing on the Moon by Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Consisting of a gold half eagle, two different sizes of silver dollars, and a copper-nickel clad half dollar, each of the four was issued in proof condition, with all but the larger silver dollar also issued in uncirculated. The gold coins were struck at the West Point Mint, the silver at the Philadelphia Mint and the base metal half dollars at the mints in Denver and San Francisco.
Command module Columbia (CM-107) is the spacecraft that served as the command module during Apollo 11, which was the first mission to land humans on the Moon. Columbia is the only spacecraft of the 1969 Apollo 11 mission that returned to Earth.
Lunar Module Eagle (LM-5) is the spacecraft that served as the crewed lunar lander of Apollo 11, which was the first mission to land humans on the Moon. It was named after the bald eagle, which was featured prominently on the mission insignia. It flew from Earth to lunar orbit on the command module Columbia, and then was flown to the Moon on July 20, 1969, by astronaut Neil Armstrong with navigational assistance from Buzz Aldrin. Eagle's landing created Tranquility Base, named by Armstrong and Aldrin and first announced upon the module's touchdown.
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