Programs and Events
Apollo 40th Anniversary: July 20, 1969-2009
July 20, 2009
To mark the 40th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 Moon landing, Public Affairs Officer, James Russo, addressed attendees at an event carried out at the Centro Astronómico Bicentenario located in Sajonia, Paraguay. Various exhibitions of moon rocks, magazines and newspapers from the time period, models of the Saturn V rocket and lunar module, as well as the viewing of documentaries of the Apollo missions enabled visitors to get a deeper appreciation of the Apollo 11 Moon landing.
This great achievement had in roots in the monumental goal announced by President John F. Kennedy in 1961,“I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.” Following eight years of effort, this dream was realized on July 20, 1969 when Neil Armstrong and “Buzz” Aldrin aboard Apollo 11 landed in the Sea of Tranquility on the Surface of the Moon.
The Apollo program was one of the great triumphs of modern technology. Six of the seven Apollo missions were able to carry out their scheduled Moon landings. The Apollo 13 mission did not make it to the surface of the Moon due to an explosion in a liquid oxygen tank that caused them to abort and return to Earth. On that occasion the crew of Apollo 13 was able to return safely thanks to the exceptional work of both the crew and mission control in Houston, Texas.