#FunFactFriday – Apollo 11
Happy Fun Fact Friday! Today, to celebrate more than just the last day of the work week, I wanted to delve into the Apollo 11 Mission – which is celebrating its 50th anniversary on July 20. The Apollo 11, famously known for being the first time humans walked on the moon, included astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.
Here are some fun facts to get you excited to celebrate 50 years!
- The Apollo 11 launched into space in a Saturn V rocket on July 16, 1969 but did not touch down on the moon until July 20, after traveling through the cosmos for three days and then floating within the moon’s orbit.
- When trying to land on the moon, the Eagle – a lunar module, or space craft used to travel between the moon’s orbit and its surface – overshot its landing site by four miles. Armstrong was able to safely land, with only 30 seconds of fuel left.
- The Apollo 11 team left six American flags on the moon. What happened to them after all this time? Cameras attached to NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter have photographed five of the flags in recent years, but scientists are doubtful that any distinctive stars and stripes are left after 50 years of wear and tear.
- Quotes made famous by the Apollo 11 Mission include “We have liftoff,” “The Eagle has landed” and “that’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
- One of our clients, Ford, had involvement in the mission as well. All the equipment, which enabled the mission and transmitted Armstrong’s voice back to Houston, was made possible thanks to Ford. The Ford Aerospace and Communications Corporation also built and maintained the Mission Control Center and provided technical and engineering support during the construction and ongoing operations. Check out original footage from the Ford archives.
Will we ever go back to the moon? A new NASA program, Artemis, is trying to return astronauts – including the first female moonwalker – by 2024.
