Fwd: NASA Celebrates 45th Anniversary of Apollo 11 Moon Landing

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From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: July 16, 2014 12:18:18 PM CDT
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: NASA Celebrates 45th Anniversary of Apollo 11 Moon Landing

 

 

July 14, 2014

MEDIA ADVISORY M14-121

 

NASA Honors Historic First Moon Landing, Eyes First Mars Mission

NASA marks the 45th anniversary of the first moon landing this month while it takes the steps needed for America's next giant leap to send astronauts to Mars.

Image Credit: NASA

NASA's Apollo 11 crew landed on the moon July 20, 1969. The world watched 45 years ago as astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set their lunar module Eagle down in the Sea of Tranquility, while crewmate Michael Collins orbited above in the command module Columbia.

The agency will commemorate Armstrong's "one giant leap for mankind" through a number of events across, and above, the United States during the next two weeks, as well as on the agency's website and NASA Television.

On Friday, July 18 at 1:30 p.m. EDT, NASA TV will air a discussion about the future of space exploration between scientists and actor, director, and narrator Morgan Freeman, live from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. The event also will include NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman participating from the International Space Station.

On Friday, July 18 at 1:30 p.m. EDT, NASA TV will air a presentation with Academy Award winner and executive producer Morgan Freeman live from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. The event also will include NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman participating from the International Space Station and clips from the Primetime Emmy nominated Through the Wormhole, as well as new series Man v. Universe, both which air on Science Channel.

Also on Friday at 3:30 p.m., NASA will host a discussion with Buzz Aldrin and astronaut Mike Massimino at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York during the Intrepid Space and Science Festival. NASA also will have exhibits and activities at the festival Thursday, July 17 - Sunday, July 20. For more information about the festival, visit

http://www.intrepidmuseum.org/SpaceandScienceFestival.aspx

On July 20 at 10:39 p.m., when Armstrong opened the spacecraft hatch to begin the first spacewalk on the moon, NASA TV will replay the restored footage of Armstrong and Aldrin's historic steps on the lunar surface.

On Monday, July 21 at 10 a.m. from the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA TV will air live coverage of the renaming of the center's Operations and Checkout Building in honor of Armstrong, who passed away in 2012. The renaming ceremony will include NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, Kennedy Center Director Robert Cabana, Apollo 11's Collins, Aldrin and astronaut Jim Lovell, who was the mission's back-up commander. International Space Station NASA astronauts Wiseman and Steve Swanson, who is the current station commander, also will take part in the ceremony from their orbiting laboratory 260 miles above Earth.

Kennedy's Operations and Checkout Building has played a vital role in NASA's spaceflight history. It was used during the Apollo program to process and test the command, service and lunar modules. Today, the facility is being used to process and assemble NASA's Orion spacecraft, which the agency will use to send astronauts to an asteroid in the 2020s and Mars in the 2030s. 

On Thursday, July 24 at 6 p.m. EDT, which is the 45th anniversary of Apollo 11's return to Earth, the agency will host a panel discussion -- called NASA's Next Giant Leap -- from Comic-Con International in San Diego, California. Moderated by actor Seth Green, the panel includes Aldrin, NASA Planetary Science Division Director Jim Green, JPL systems engineer Bobak Ferdowsi, and NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, who will talk about Orion and the Space Launch System rocket, which will carry humans on America's next great adventure in space.

NASA.gov will host features, videos, and historic images and audio clips that highlight the Apollo 11 anniversary, as well as the future of human spaceflight. To explore all the special content, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/apollo45

To join the ongoing conversation on social media about the anniversary and NASA's deep space exploration plans, use the hashtags #NextGiantLeap and #Apollo45.

For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

For information about the activities, planning and preparations for the next giant leap in space exploration, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/exploration

-end-

David Weaver/Bob Jacobs
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
david.s.weaver@nasa.gov / bob.jacobs@nasa.gov

 

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NASA Celebrates 45th Anniversary of Apollo 11 Moon Landing

By Megan Gannon, News Editor   |   July 16, 2014 06:00am ET

 

An artist's concept of a boot print on the moon and Mars. Credit: NASA View full size image

On July 20, 1969, the world watched as Neil Armstrong opened the hatch of the Eagle and stepped outside onto a barren lunar landscape. Buzz Aldrin followed him out the door and they became the first humans to ever walk on the moon. All the while, their third crewmate, Michael Collins, sat in a lonely orbit around moon in the Columbia command module.

The three Apollo 11 astronauts launched toward the moon on July 16, 1969, and returned heroes in a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on July 24. Only 10 more people would ever put their boots on powdery moon dirt (said to smell like gunpowder), and no humans have returned since Apollo 17 blasted off the lunar surface on December 14, 1972.

July 20, 2014 will mark the 45th anniversary of the first moonwalk. NASA has planned a slew of events to reflect on the historic landing and look ahead to the future of space exploration. [NASA's Historic Apollo 11 Moon Landing in Pictures]

Here's a sampling of events hosted by NASA and other space-minded organizations that you can participate in virtually or in person in the coming days:

Friday, July 18

• At 1:30 p.m. EDT (1530 GMT), Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman will be live on NASA TV from the space agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, to talk about the future of space exploration. Reid Wiseman, a NASA astronaut who is currently living (and prolifically tweeting) on the International Space Station, will participate from orbit.

• At 3:30 p.m. EDT (1930 GMT), moonwalker Buzz Aldrin will be in conversation with NASA astronaut Mike Massimino at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York. The event is part of the Intrepid Space and Science Festival, which takes place from Thursday (July 17) to Sunday (July 20).

Sunday, July 20

·         Starting at 8:30 p.m. EDT (0030 GMT), the Slooh Space Camera will broadcast high-definition footage of the waning crescent moon from Dubai while astronomers and special guests talk about little-known Apollo stories and debunk conspiracy theories about the landing. Participants will include filmmaker Duncan Copp, who has produced and directed documentaries about the Apollo program, and science journalist Andrew Chaikin, whose book "A  Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts" inspired an HBO miniseries co-produced by Tom Hanks and Ron Howard.

• At 10:39 p.m. EDT (0239 GMT July 21), NASA will mark the exact moment Neil Armstrong opened the spacecraft hatch to take his first step on the lunar surface. NASA TV will replay the restored footage of the historic moonwalk.

Monday, July 21

• At 10:00 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT), NASA TV will broadcast the renaming ceremony of the Operations and Checkout Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, which processed and tested the command, service and lunar modules during the Apollo program. The building will be named for Armstrong, who died in 2012. Participants will include NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Armstrong's Apollo 11 crewmates, Collins and Aldrin.

• NASA's Glenn Research Center will kick off a week of events as part of its Space Adventure Week. The schedule includes talks by astronaut Doug Wheelock and engineers working on Orion, NASA's next deep-space exploration capsule. You can find the full list of events here: http://www.greatscience.com/exhibits/nasa-glenn-visitor-center/space-adventure-week.aspx

Thursday, July 24

• At 6:00 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT), the space agency will tap into the geekery of Comic-Con International in San Diego, California, with a panel called NASA's Next Giant Leap. The discussion will be moderated by actor Seth Green and will feature Aldrin, NASA Planetary Science Division Director Jim Green, "Mohawk Guy" Bobak Ferdowsi, and NASA astronaut Mike Fincke.

 

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