| Apollo 11 anniversary | |
|---|---|
 President George H.W. Bush and the Apollo 11 astronauts | |
| Status | Active |
| Genre | anniversary |
| Begins | July 16 (16-07) |
| Ends | July 20 (20-07) |
| Frequency | Quinquennially |
| Country | United States |
| Years active | 51 |
| Inaugurated | July 16, 1974 (1974-07-16) |
| Founder | NASA |
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| Part of a series on |
| Apollo 11 |
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Apollo 11 was the firsthuman spaceflight to land on theMoon. 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, andMichael 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]
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On the 20th anniversary in 1989, PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush announced plans to return to the Moon and then to Mars, known as theSpace Exploration Initiative (SEI).[3]
The USPS released a stamp designed byChris Calle, son ofPaul 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]
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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. PresidentBill Clinton, Vice PresidentAl Gore, First LadyHillary 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]
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On the 30th anniversary in 1999, Vice-PresidentAl Gore awarded the astronauts with theLangley 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", isScott 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 theTribune 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]
TheUSSHornet held a ten-day event called Moonfest 1999 at the museum. The event included NASA exhibits and evening astronomy. Aldrin, along withCarl Seilberlich, captain of theHornet 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]
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On July 15, 2009,Life.com released a photo gallery of previously unpublished photos of the astronauts taken byLife photographerRalph 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] TheJohn F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum set up anAdobe Flash website that rebroadcasts the transmissions of Apollo 11 from launch to landing on the Moon.[31]in bbc whoniverse have apollo 11 story call blue moon is a four-part tenth doctor story he wear Sanctuary Base 6 space suit on the moon all his time and he met apollo 11 on the moon that the 40th anniversary of the apollo 11 moon landing from july 15th to july 20thOn July 20, 2009, Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins met with U.S. PresidentBarack 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 aCongressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award in the United States. The bill was sponsored by Florida SenatorBill Nelson and Florida RepresentativeAlan 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, CongressmanBill Posey introduced resolution H.R. 2726 to the 114th session of theUnited States House of Representatives directing theUnited 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 theApollo 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 astronautRusty Schweickart was among the celebrities present.[43]
The Smithsonian Institute'sNational Air and Space Museum andNASA sponsored the “Apollo 50 Festival” on theNational 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 asAdam Savage and NASA scientists.[44]
As part of the festival was a projection of the 363-foot (111 m) tallSaturn V rocket on the east face of the 555-foot (169 m) tallWashington 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 theSaturn V rocket. The projection was combined with a 40-foot (12 m) wide recreation of theKennedy 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 whereNeil 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 inIMAX on March 1, 2019, and broadly in theaters on March 8.[46][47]
On July 19, 2019, theGoogle Doodle paid tribute to the Apollo 11 Moon Landing, complete with a link to an animatedYouTube video with voiceover by astronautMichael Collins.[48][49]
Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, Rick Armstrong (Neil's son), Mark Armstrong (Rick's son), and others were hosted by PresidentDonald Trump in the Oval Office.[50] Trump had also honored Aldrin,Gene Kranz, and the Apollo 11 mission in the2019 State of the Union Address and the 2019Salute to America event at theNational Mall.[51][52]
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