► Friday, July 19 and Saturday, July 20
Apollo 50 on the National Mall
NASA and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum are hosting the Apollo 50 Festival, a free three-day event on the National Mall in Washington, July 18-20. The event will include exhibits, speakers, demonstrations and a host of fun activities for the entire family. NASA researchers, scientists and engineers will showcase NASA’s newest technologies and innovations that will take us forward to the Moon and on to Mars. Festival hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 18 and 19, and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. July 20.
Apollo A-Maze-Ment
Throughout the summer, Cherry Crest Adventure Farm in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is presenting an Apollo-themed corn maze for tourists. NASA and local and agriculture industry representatives will participate in stage talks and media interviews about the intersection of NASA technology, farming in America, and our everyday lives on Earth – demonstrating the return on investment of tax dollars. There will be talks by NASA’s Deputy Chief Technologist David Steitz, astronaut Alvin Drew, and Technology Transfer Program Executive Dan Lockney.
On NASA TV
• 7 a.m., 2 and 10 p.m. – Moon 101 Series, Episode 4: The Crust of the Moon (Public Channel)
• 8 a.m. – June 1989 Crew Interviews with Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins (All Channels)
• 9 a.m. – The Flight of Apollo 11 (All Channels)
• 10 a.m. – Documentary: 1969-1989 (All Channels)
• 4 p.m. – Documentary: For All Mankind (Public Channel)
• 5 p.m. – Documentary: Moonwalk One (All Channels)
• 7 p.m. – In the Shadow of the Moon (All Channels)
► Friday, July 19
Dedication of 1969 Moon Landing Stamp
The U.S. Postal Service will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 and humanity’s first steps on the Moon with two Forever stamps. It will dedicate the stamps in a ceremony at 11 a.m. at the Apollo/Saturn V Center of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. The ceremony is open to the public with paid admission.
NASA’s Giant Leaps: Past and Future
NASA’s Giant Leaps: Past and Future will air 1 to 3 p.m. on NASA TV and the agency’s website, and will be simulcast on the Discovery Science Channel. Hosted from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center, the show will salute the heroes of Apollo and discuss the agency’s future plans, with segments at:
- National Mall in Washington
- NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, including the newly restored Apollo Mission Control Operations Room and Space Center Houston, Johnson’s official visitors center
- U.S. Space & Rocket Center
- Neil Armstrong’s hometown of Wapakoneta, Ohio
- The Apollo 11 command module on display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle
The show also will feature slices of Americana at other anniversary celebrations around the country.
STEM Forward to the Moon
At 3 p.m., NASA TV will air a special program, STEM Forward to the Moon, which will feature kids participating in Moon landing simulations at the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas, Saint Louis Science Center in St. Louis, Columbia Memorial Space Center in Downey, California, and Arizona Science Center in Phoenix.
NASA also will bring Apollo 50th anniversary participants together to take part in a virtual engineering design challenge on social media. Along with each of its museum partners, NASA invites the public to help build a component of NASA’s return to the Moon using simple household materials.
NASA at Nasdaq Closing Bell
At 3:50 p.m., NASA’s Chief Financial Officer Jeff DeWit and astronaut Jeanette Epps will represent the agency during the Nasdaq Stock Market closing bell ceremony in New York City. The event will be livestreamed on Nasdaq’s Facebook page.
On NASA TV
• 7 a.m. – Moon 101 Series, Episode 4: The Crust of the Moon (Public Channel)
• 8 a.m. – Mission Control: Human Spaceflight (All Channels)
• 10 a.m. – Documentary: For All Mankind (All Channels)
• 1, 6 and 9 p.m. – NASA’s Giant Leaps: Past and Future – Celebrating Apollo 50th as We Go Forward to the Moon (All Channels)
• 3 and 8 p.m. – STEM: Forward to the Moon (All Channels)
► Friday, July 19 to Sunday, July 21
Summer Moon Festival
NASA and the Armstrong Air & Space Museum in Wapakoneta, Ohio, built to honor Wapakoneta’s own Neil Armstrong and other Ohioans in space exploration, will mark the anniversary with festivities including a 5k and 10k Run to the Moon with NASA astronauts, space inflatables, interactive STEM activities, rocket launches, and more. Activities on the museum grounds run July 19 to 21 and coincide with the 10-day, city-wide Summer Moon Festival, which includes a family-oriented street fair July 17-20 in downtown Wapakoneta.
► Saturday, July 20
Apollo 11 Lands, Astronauts walk on Moon
NASA TV will air original video of the 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing and astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin taking humanity’s first steps on the Moon at the actual times these two events took place 50 years ago – 4:02 and 10:38 p.m. respectively. The video also will stream live on Twitter, Periscope, YouTube, Facebook Live and UStream.
Apollo 11: A Fiftieth Anniversary
NASA is collaborating with the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington and the National Symphony Orchestra Pops on a musical and visual tribute to the 1969 Moon landing. The concert, which begins at 9 p.m., will be hosted by Meredith Vieira and Adam Savage and feature appearances by singer-songwriter and producer Pharrell Williams, singer-songwriter Natasha Bedingfield, composer Michael Giacchino, actor LeVar Burton, and more.
NASA Night at Discovery Green
From 6 to 10 p.m. CDT, Downtown Houston’s Discovery Green will host a free public screening of the movie Apollo 11. The U.S. Army Golden Knights jumpers will land before the screening, in addition to a special appearance from Spacey Casey. The event will feature an appearance by NASA astronaut Steve Bowen.
On NASA TV
• 7 a.m., 2 and 10 p.m. – Moon 101 Series, Episode 4: The Crust of the Moon (Public Channel)
• 8 and 10 a.m. – NASA’s Giant Leaps: Past and Future – Celebrating Apollo 50th as we Go Forward to the Moon (All Channels)
• 3 p.m. – Mission Control: Human Spaceflight (All Channels)
• 4:02 p.m. – Historic CBS Live Broadcast of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing (Public Channel)
• 10:38 p.m. – Historic Apollo 11 Moonwalk (All Channels)
► Sunday, July 21
On NASA TV
• 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. – Moon 101 Series, Episode 4: The Crust of the Moon (Public Channel)
• 8 a.m. – The Flight of Apollo 11 (All Channels)
• 9 p.m. – NASA’s Giant Leaps: Past and Future – Celebrating Apollo 50th as We Go Forward to the Moon (All Channels)
► Tuesday, July 23
NASA Science Live: 50 Years of Apollo
At 3 p.m., this special edition of NASA Science Live will take viewers onboard the aircraft carrier that recovered the Apollo 11 capsule after splashdown – the USS Hornet. Join experts for a behind-the-scenes tour of this historic location where President Nixon first greeted the Apollo 11 crew. Discover what it takes to reenter Earth’s atmosphere and learn about the crew’s journey back to Earth. Splashdown may have been the conclusion of the crew’s mission, but it was just the beginning for the science. Hear from experts about what we learned from the Apollo missions, what we’re still uncovering today and what we hope to discover with future Artemis missions to the Moon. This episode will stream live on NASA Television, the agency’s website, Twitter Periscope, YouTube, Facebook Live and Ustream. We will take questions from the public using #askNASA.
► Celebrate the Anniversary Online
Follow NASA’s social media channels as we celebrate all of the milestones of the Apollo 11 mission and look to the future of our Artemis mission to return humans to the Moon and on to Mars. On NASA’s Instagram and Snapchat, there will be daily stories highlighting these missions and on NASA’s Tumblr there will be daily long reads that will explore aspects of these missions.
Join the conversation online using the #Apollo50th hashtag. To elevate the conversation, Twitter has activated a custom emoji when users tweet using the #Apollo50th hashtag. Google users can also explore NASA’s Apollo content in virtual exhibits on their Arts & Culture site.
► Restored Apollo Mission Control Center
In celebration of the golden anniversary of the first landing, the Apollo Mission Control Center at Johnson has been restored to appear as it did in that era, ready to begin its new life as a source of learning and inspiration. Visitors to NASA can experience the restored control room as part of regular tours provided by Space Center Houston.
For more information about NASA’s Apollo 11 mission and a list of other events taking place across the country, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/specials/apollo50th/
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