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Entry bubble 40th Anniversary of Apollo Moon Landing

By: Colleen | July 22, 2009 | Category: Fun

man on the moon

Yesterday marked the 40-year anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. While I've only seen replays of the famous footage, those who were alive at the time all distinctly remember where they were when President Kennedy's challenge to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade was met.

My Dad is one of those people. Sitting in his parents' tiny rowhome in Reading, PA, he and my Grandmother patiently waited for Neil Armstrong to step out of the lunar module Eagle.

While my Grandmother was too tired to stay up, my Dad remained glued to CBS and was one of the more than half a billion people watching as Neil Armstrong proclaimed, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."

In total awe of what he witnessed, my Dad has always tried to share the magic of that moment with my sister and me by doing things like taking us to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida while on vacation.

Do you have memories of the first moon landing? Where were you watching this historical moment? Who were you with?

The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and NASA have lots of activities going on to celebrate.

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Comments (10):

blue comment bubble Posted by Gabriel Michas on July 22, 2009 at 06:59 AM EDT


Memories that became a vision: http://connect.state.gov/profiles/blogs/for-a-constellation-generation

Happy appy Apollo 40 Years Celeberation!

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blue comment bubble Posted by Alan on July 22, 2009 at 04:54 PM EDT

This is one of those events that bring people together. Something like this would never be done today as a pure scientific endeavor even though we are more prosperous than ever. While reading an article on www.t1teacher.com, I noticed that a greater percentage of people were watching this one even in the world, more than any other event.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Scott on July 22, 2009 at 10:28 PM EDT

The moon landing was one of the greatest technological achievements in history. What an exciting moment when Armstrong stepped off the lunar module "Eagle" onto the moon. Hard to believe that was 40 years ago.

Scott
www.jobcomb.com

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blue comment bubble Posted by Denver SEO on July 23, 2009 at 02:19 AM EDT

I remember when I was a kid (I did not get to watch a landing on the moon), I was cleaning out a house with my father. We worked residential construction at the time and there were many foreclosures, so this was a house that we were "gutting" out and staging for sale.

I went into the crawlspace, and found a stack of old newspapers. Who ever had lived there before, must have had hundreds of papers sitting there, all in excellent condition. Anyway, there were several copies of the Denver Post edition of the moon landing. I could only imagine just how surreal the whole thing was at the time.

www.thisisiniquitous.com

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blue comment bubble Posted by Erdinc Elhan on July 23, 2009 at 05:42 AM EDT

I would like to celebrate 40th Anniversary of Apollo Moon Landing . That that was a new century for the world and made a big step knowing unknown space.. Thank you so much

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blue comment bubble Posted by Thomas on July 23, 2009 at 11:25 AM EDT

I was just a little too young to remember the moon landing. When I had the chance to visit the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum last summer, I found it amazing how small the space capsules and lunar module were. The tour guide was a source of interesting facts and I surprised that they had a moon rock out so it could be touched by anyone who wanted to touch it.

Over the last few day the moon landing has been a topic of discussion at work. There are a few people here who believe that moon landing was a hoax and they refuse to believe that it happen no matter how much prof you provide.

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blue comment bubble Posted by HETAIRIA PHILIKON on July 24, 2009 at 04:11 AM EDT

the moon landing was a beginning of new epoch of history. as 19th st. began in 1789, as 20th st. began in 1918, like that 21st st started in 1969. is just a question of time when will men landed on other planets, but before we explore other planets in Solar system, it will be our duty to explore our planet, Earth, because 2.000.000 years are still enough to do it:-)

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blue comment bubble Posted by Rob on July 27, 2009 at 04:21 PM EDT

That was a great moment in US history. I was not alive at that time but hopefully there will be another moon landing to witness soon. We can learn so much from the moon and what it is composed of, it is a vital step in space exploration.

www.igoatv.com

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blue comment bubble Posted by Olen Cannon on August 05, 2009 at 10:31 AM EDT

We were visiting family friends in rural Arkansas. My brother and I watched it with the elderly gentleman who had a glass eye. I think the glass eye held this 6 year old's attention more than the moon walk, but I do remember. I suppose they were equally impressive because I remember it as though it were yesterday.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Julie Escobar - www.ProspectsPLUS.com on September 15, 2009 at 12:54 PM EDT

It's extraordinary to know how far we've come -- and how far we've gone! Our history teaches us to keep reaching, keep exploring and keep adapting. I remember being fascinated by space when I was a child. To the stars and beyond!

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