July 19, 2009

40 Years After Apollo 11


Today, 40 years ago, Neil Armstrong first laid foot on the Moon, and spoke the words, "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." This was the first time a human laid foot on a body in space outside the Earth. Now, with the help of technology and the internet, we can celebrate the monumental event, and experience the moment in different ways.

Probably the biggest project in this celebration is the We Choose the Moon website, built by the J.F.K. Presidential Library and Museum. This website presents the events of the Apollo 11 mission as they happened 40 years ago. And after the mission is over, the information will be available freely at any time.

NASA has also compiled many features on their website for the 40th anniversary of the Apollo missions. What I found most interesting among these were the recently released images of the Apollo landing sites taken from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Their high resolution allows the features from the landing to be discerned, and in some, even footprints from the astronauts show up clearly. NASA has also released Apollo 11 spacecraft audio and put up restored video of the moon landing.

In addition to these places, there are many other ways to find out more about the Apollo 11 mission and the Moon at this time.


Images: NASA


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