SPACE JAMBOREE

GEARING UP FOR APOLLO 11 ANNIVERSARY

In grainy, grayscale footage transmitted hundreds of thousands of miles across space, the world watched American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin achieve what some thought impossible: mankind’s first steps on the moon.

In the 50 years since, 10 other American astronauts have been to the moon; the remaining 500plus astronauts who have gone to space have stayed nearer to Earth aboard space shuttles and space stations. While the eyes of many — including SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and former President Barack Obama — have shifted toward Mars, global fascination with traveling to the moon has not waned in the five decades since that first landing. Plans to study and eventually set up a colony on the moon are percolating internationally, and Europe, China, Russia, India, Japan and Israel have all sent probes there to investigate.

Since the last astronaut left the moon in 1972, it remains the farthest any human has ever been from Earth. Those who remember watching the event unfold on July 20, 1969, along with the rest of the astronomically interested public, are gathering to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission across the U.S. this summer. In California, these range from blacktie galas with lunar astronauts in attendance to blowout parties at NASA facilities to familyfriendly educational events focused on our lunar satellite. More celebrations are still being finalized in advance of the anniversary, so keep an eye out for ones in your area. Here are the ones we are most excited about:

Photos by NASA 1969 Astronaut Buzz Aldrin walks on the surface of the moon near the Apollo 11 lunar module.

Above left: Personnel in the Launch Control Center watch the Apollo 11 liftoff from Launch Complex 39A on July 16, 1969. Above right: With Earth in the distance, the lunar module embarks on its ascent stage in orbit around the moon. Lower left: A closeup view of an astronaut’s boot print in the lunar soil, photographed with a 70mm lunar surface camera during the Apollo 11 mission. Lower right: The Apollo 11 crew was taken to safety aboard the USS Hornet after splashing into the Pacific Ocean upon return to Earth.