Launching an Apollo 11 Anniversary Celebration

“We know it will be a good ride,” Astronaut Neil Armstrong said. He was responding to well wishes from the NASA launch operations manager just 15 seconds before automatic sequence. And he was right. It was a good ride.

Forty-seven years ago, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins traveled into space, to the Moon, and into history on the Apollo 11 mission. The world watched the six-day mission unfold and celebrated the monumental achievement. Today, those events continue to resonate.

From launch to splashdown, we have a lot in store to commemorate the historic Apollo 11 mission. On Twitter we’re reliving the event down to the minute (#Apollo11). We have news on the conservation project to restore Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit. We’re sharing a detailed look at the Lunar Module. And we’re giving you a brand new way to explore the command module Columbia—a new dimension if you will.

It’s all very exciting. And you’re wondering how to be a part of it. Easy. We want to hear your Apollo 11 story.

• If you watched the mission unfold, how would you describe its importance to someone who didn’t?
• If you were born after Apollo 11, does the mission hold significance for you?
• What significance do you think the Apollo 11 Moon landing will have for future generations?

You can share your story and see others’ stories online, like Scott W. who remembers being a “goofy kid” clutching all his cool space stuff as he watched the Moon landing. Apollo 11 was a technological and scientific triumph, but it was also a defining moment in our shared understanding of who we (all) are as humans and Earthlings.

Image: Moonbound Apollo 11 clears the launch tower. NASA History Office, S69-39526