This week in 1971, Apollo 15 became the first mission to use the Lunar Roving Vehicle. The LRV was a lightweight, electric vehicle designed to operate in the low-gravity vacuum of the Moon. It was capable of traversing the lunar surface, allowing Apollo astronauts to extend the range of their extravehicular activities. Here, the LRV is photographed alone against the desolate lunar background following the third Apollo 15 EVA. For more pictures, and to connect to NASA’s remarkable history, visit the Marshall History Program’s webpage.
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This week in 1969, the Apollo 11 crew successfully returned to Earth following their eight-day mission to the lunar surface. Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, 13 miles from the recovery ship USS Hornet. Donning biological isolation garments before leaving the spacecraft, the crew went directly into the Mobile Quarantine Facility on the aircraft carrier, their home for the following 21 days. With the success of Apollo 11, the national objective of landing men on the Moon and returning them safely to Earth was accomplished. This July, in a series of special events, NASA is marking the 50th anniversary of the Apollo Program -- the historic effort that sent the first U.S. astronauts into orbit around the Moon in 1968, and landed a dozen astronauts on the lunar surface between 1969 and 1972. For more pictures, and to connect to NASA’s remarkable history, visit the Marshall History Program’s webpage.
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Tags: NASA Marshall Space Flight Center MSFC Apollo rocket space history Saturn V Apollo 11 SPLASHDOWN
50 years ago, Apollo 11 brought the world together and inspired us to achieve, explore, and discover for generations to come. Here, people are brought together July 16, 2019, to celebrate the first time humans walked on the Moon as a full-sized, 363-foot Saturn V rocket is projected onto the east face of the Washington Monument 50 years to the day after astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin launched on Apollo 11, the first mission to land astronauts on the Moon, Tuesday, July 16, 1969.
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Tags: NASA Marshall Space Flight Center MSFC Apollo rocket space history Apollo 11 Eagle Lunar Module astronauts Washington Monument
Today is the day that we made history -- 50 years ago today, the Apollo 11 astronauts landed on the moon! On July 20, 1969, Astronaut Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin Jr., lunar module (LM) pilot of the first lunar landing mission, posed for a photograph beside the deployed United States flag during an Apollo 11 extravehicular activity (EVA) on the lunar surface. The Lunar Module (LM) is on the left, and the footprints of the astronauts are clearly visible in the soil of the moon. Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, commander, took this picture with a 70mm Hasselblad lunar surface camera. While astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin descended in the LM, the "Eagle", to explore the Sea of Tranquility region of the moon, astronaut Michael Collins, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) "Columbia" in lunar orbit. As we move forward to the Moon once more, we will bring new knowledge and opportunities and inspire the next generation of explorers, who will carry us to even greater heights.
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The Eagle rises! Fifty years ago, the Apollo 11 Lunar Module, the Eagle, rose from the surface of the Moon to dock with the Command and Service Module (CSM). This image shows the Lunar Modue photographed in lunar orbit from the Command and Service Module as it ascends with the Earth in the background just over the horizon. Inside the LM were astronauts Neil Armstrong, commander, and Edwin Aldrin Jr., LM pilot, who explored the surface of the Moon while astronaut Michael Collins, Command Module pilot, remained with the CSM in lunar orbit. This month, in a series of special events, NASA is marking the 50th anniversary of the Apollo Program -- the historic effort that sent the first U.S. astronauts into orbit around the Moon in 1968, and landed a dozen astronauts on the lunar surface between 1969 and 1972. For more pictures, and to connect to NASA’s remarkable history, visit the Marshall History Program’s webpage.
Image credit: NASA
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Tags: NASA Marshall Space Flight Center MSFC Apollo rocket space history Apollo 11 Eagle Lunar Module astronauts