THIS WEEK @NASA: Celebrating 50 Anniversary of Apollo 11, New Crew Arrives At ISS
By Space Coast Daily // July 25, 2019
Latest Happenings around NASA
ABOVE VIDEO: Celebrating our #Apollo50th anniversary of the first Moon landing, moving toward the first flight of our #Artemis Program to explore the Moon and Mars, and a new crew arrives to the International Space Station on an historic date for humans in space … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!
NASA Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Historic Moon Landing
We celebrated the 50th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 Moon mission with a series of events and broadcasts around the country.
On July 16 – the date Apollo 11 launched 50 years ago – the spacesuit worn by late astronaut Neil Armstrong went on display for the first time in 13 years at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Our Administrator Jim Bridenstine and Vice President Mike Pence helped unveil the suit.
Vice President Mike Pence:
“Thank you for preserving this great National treasure, may it inspire future heroes who walk these hallways in their youth.”
Apollo 11 command module pilot Michael Collins joined Bob Cabana, director of our Kennedy Space Center in Florida, for a look back on the historic mission while at Kennedy’s launch pad 39A – the same pad from which Apollo 11 launched. Our future Artemis missions will also launch from Kennedy as part of America’s Moon to Mars approach for human space exploration.
“And there they are – the men of Apollo 11. Immortalized in bronze ….”
Later in the week, a live two-hour NASA Television special – “NASA’s Giant Leaps: Past and Future” – recognized the heroes of Apollo and highlighted our next giant leaps off the planet – to the Moon and eventually to Mars – with Administrator Bridenstine revealing the logo for the Artemis Program. Artemis aims to land the first American woman and the next American man on the Moon by 2024.
A celebration at our Johnson Space Center in Houston included some of the Mission Control team that helped Apollo 11 make history. Meanwhile, back in Washington, D.C. a three-day festival on the National Mall was full of activities, including a unique way to illustrate just how monumental of an effort this mission was.
Other Apollo 11 anniversary celebrations took place in Neil Armstrong’s childhood hometown of Wapakoneta, Ohio; at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, where two Forever stamps were dedicated by the U.S. Postal Service; online – with material and activities posted to our social media accounts …
… and at the Nasdaq in New York, where NASA representatives closed out trading for the week. More information about the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 is available at nasa.gov/specials/apollo50th.
Apollo 11 Astronauts Visit The White House
While in Washington, D.C. for the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, Michael Collins, family members of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, the third member of the Apollo 11 crew, Administrator Bridenstine and others visited the White House to mark the mission that saw Armstrong take the first step on the Moon – a huge American technical and human undertaking. The legacy of Apollo has provided the foundation for America’s return to the Moon by 2024, with plans to eventually venture onward to Mars.
Vice President Unveils Spacecraft for Artemis 1 Mission on Anniversary of Apollo Moon Landing
While at our Kennedy Space Center on July 20 to mark the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11’s landing on the Moon, Vice President Mike Pence helped mark another milestone in American space exploration.
Vice President Mike Pence:
“The Orion crew vehicle for the Artemis 1 mission is complete and ready to begin preparations for its historic first flight.”
Orion and the European service module will go to the Moon on Artemis 1 – the first uncrewed integrated flight test of Orion with our Space Launch System rocket. This mission will pave the way for human missions to the Moon, in preparation for trips to Mars.
New Crew Launches to Space Station on Anniversary of Apollo 11 Moon Landing
Also on July 20, the International Space Station’s next crew launched to the station from Kazakhstan. About six hours later, our Drew Morgan, Alexander Skvortsov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, and Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency arrived at the station, where they joined the crew already onboard – including our Nick Hague and Christina Koch.
That’s what’s up this week @NASA
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