Houston, we're going back in time

NASA's historic Apollo Mission Control Center set to be restored to the moment man landed on the moon in 1969

The historic Apo l l o Mission Control Center in Houston is set to be completely restored in time for the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. The painstaking restoration will recreate the room as it was during the moon landing on July 20, 1969. Even the ashtrays, coffee cups and paperwork on the desks will be put back in place.

NASA's Johnson Space Center, Space Center Houston and the Apollo Flight Operations Association (AFOA) are working together on the project. The restoration will include the Mission Operations Control Room ( MOCR), Visitor Viewing Room, Simulation Control Room, and the Summary Display Projection Room ('bat cave'), the areas that make up the Apollo MCC - all located in the Christopher C. Kraft Mission Control Center (MCC) at Johnson.

The MCC is where NASA's flight control team planned, trained and executed Gemini, Apollo, Apollo/ Soyuz, Skylab and Space Shuttle missions until 1992 including the momentous Apollo 11 and 13 missions. In 1985, the MCC was designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service.

Throughout the years, some work was done to partially restore the Apollo MCC to its Apollo- era configuration, but it was not fully restored and continued to deteriorate. The flight control consoles are original and will be fully refurbished.

' The restoration of this National Historic Landmark will create a space for the Apollo generation to remember an incredible time in history and keep that inspira- tion alive for the next generation,' said NASA.