NY 10036. The forward compartment held parachutes for the Earth landing, while the aft compartment held propellant tanks, reaction-control engines, wires and plumbing. Have you ever wondered how engineers make sure rockets and airplanes don’t flip over and tumble out of control in the wind? TAGS: | The Trip to the Moon

The LCC is located three and one-half miles from the launch pad. In October 1968, the first crewed flight of the Apollo program lifted off; less than a year later, Apollo 11 launched. With Exploratorium Educator Ernest Aguayo When it was finally time to send humans to the moon, NASA decided to launch the mission on a Saturn V rocket. On July 20, 1969, 600 million people watched with anxious excitement as Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. took their first steps on the moon's surface. See how high your rocket can launch with the help of a plastic tube, a water bottle, and an enthusiastic stomp. With Maz Kattuah Although other astronauts visited the lunar surface after Apollo 11, the triumphant first landing remains a pinnacle in spaceflight history.

Unistellar Scope Here are the ones we are most excited about: The first event to mark the start of several weeks of celebration throughout the state was also the priciest ticket experience available, with Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin attending a special black-tie gala at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley to raise funds for his nonprofit, the Human SpaceFlight Institute, which will work to get humans beyond low-Earth orbit again. Apollo 11 50th anniversary celebration in Tomball: An educational exhibit presenting the historic mission in video, photos, a miniature diorama and more. This program will last about an hour, and is especially appropriate for preschool- and kindergarten-aged visitors. Join host Ron Hipschman for the ins and outs of tides: king tides, high tides and low tides, what tides have to do with the Sun and moon, and what they can tell us about the future and our rising seas. Please refresh the page and try again. Seismic Joint Cafe: 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

With Hildreth (Hal) Walker, Jr. (After the Apollo program, the ultrapowerful rocket was used to launch the Skylab space station.) Yet many more people have witnessed lunar eclipses than solar eclipses. Apollo 11 carried the first geological samples from the moon back to Earth.

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However, tragedy struck on Jan. 27, 1967, when a fire ignited within the Apollo 1 command module while the crew was performing a prelaunch test. The landing marked not just a historic milestone, but also the end of the Cold War space race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Museum of the Moon As Siddiqi said, the "sort of clean-cut, all-American archetype" was a positive diversion from the massive problems that plagued the U.S. at the time.

Bridenstine said this timeline will allow for a Mars landing by 2033. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and Facebook. The U.S. efforts in this contest included two predecessors to Project Apollo: Project Mercury, which began in 1958, and Project Gemini, which followed in 1961. Take the eVscope for a test drive on our Observatory Terrace. Personnel within the Launch Control Center watch the Apollo 11 liftoff from Launch Complex 39A today at the start of the historic lunar landing mission. Come early, stay late, and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing with us. Perspectives from a NASA Solar System Ambassador