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"We choose to go the Moon" -

President John F. Kennedy threw down the gauntlet during his historic speech at Rice University on September 12, 1962, when he reiterated what he'd said the previous year when he stood before Congress and declared, "...I believe 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."

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First Moon landing -

On July 20, 1969, commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo 11 lunar module Eagle on the Moon. Armstrong became the first human being to walk on the lunar surface.

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Final Moon landing -

Apollo 17 was the final mission of NASA's Apollo program and took place over December 7–19, 1972.

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What did we learn from landing on the Moon? -

In all, there were six crewed US landings between 1969 and 1972. Twelve people walked on the Moon, all of them American men. But how did the Moon missions change our world, and what did we learn?

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The first perspective of the Earth from space -

The Apollo missions gave us the first perspective of the Earth from space. Apollo 8 was the first crewed spacecraft to reach the Moon, orbiting the natural satellite without landing. On December 24, 1968, crewmember Bill Anders took this iconic photograph of the Earth rising above the lunar surface, an image that became known as "Earthrise."

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The Space Race -

Kennedy's challenge was as much about beating the Russians to the Moon as it was about furthering our knowledge of the universe. On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to journey into outer space. The Space Race was on!

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An unknown quantity -

Much of the technology needed to get to the lunar surface and return didn't exist at the time of the US president's visionary 1962 speech. And much was unknown.

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New technologies -

But had scientists not continued to explore space, many of the technologies that are taken for granted today we simply wouldn't have, things like weather and communication satellites, medical imaging devices, fire-resistant materials used in firefighting, shock-absorbing materials used in helmets, and even joystick gaming control units.

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Development of the digital computer -

The Apollo program was guided by a digital computer. As a result of that nascent technology, in the 1970s NASA successfully launched the first plane flown digitally, where a computer collected all of the input from the pilot's controls and then used that information to command aerodynamic surfaces. Today, so-called digital fly-by-wire systems are standard in aviation.

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A unifying role -

Kennedy often pushed the message of global unity. His successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, saw the advance of American scientific technology as a means of addressing the civil rights issues. NASA had in place a policy to actively recruit African Americans into the space program. A team of African-American women including Katherine Johnson (pictured), Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson played a crucial role in the development of the Saturn V rocket.

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Making prepackaged foods safer -

Apollo astronauts took with them prepackaged foods for their time in space. To ensure the safety of such perishables, NASA created a new, systematic approach to quality control. This method today is known as Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, an industry standard that benefits consumers worldwide by keeping food free from a wide range of potential hazards. Included here are chicken and vegetables, beef hash, and beef and gravy.

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Invention of "space blankets" -

"Space blankets," the thermal sheets found in emergency kits and handed out to exhausted runners at the end of marathons, are derived from the reflective, multi-layered lightweight mylar used in just about every NASA spacecraft and spacesuit since its creation. The material is also found in clothing and firefighting gear, and building insulation.

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Earthquake-proof technology -

The huge arms that swung away from Apollo's Saturn V rocket during launch incorporated shock isolation technology that today protects buildings and bridges around the world from earthquakes.

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Rechargeable hearing aid batteries -

The command module that went to the Moon used silver-zinc batteries. But NASA also wanted to make the cells rechargeable—a goal that wasn't achieved during the Apollo program. Decades later, however, the technology the agency developed was employed in the world's first practical rechargeable hearing aid batteries, which debuted in 2013.

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Exploring beyond the Moon -

Nearly coincident with the Apollo program was the advance of robotic missions to explore other parts of the solar system. Mars and Venus had already been investigated during the early 1960s. But within a few years of Apollo 11, NASA had launched spacecraft to fly by Mercury, Jupiter, and Saturn. The field of planetary science had well and truly taken off.

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Apollo's geological discoveries -

During the Apollo exploration of the Moon, NASA scientists were able to deduce that is was not a primordial object; it was an evolved terrestrial planet with internal zoning similar to that of Earth.

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Understanding geologic evolution -

Before Apollo, the origin of lunar impact craters was not fully understood and the origin of similar craters on Earth was highly debated. But the calibration of meteorite craters using rock samples collected by astronauts provided a key for unraveling time scales for the geologic evolution of our own planet, plus that of Mercury, Venus, and Mars.

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Rocks of ages -

It was discovered that the youngest Moon rocks are virtually as old as the oldest Earth rocks. Moon rock ages range from about 3.2 billion years to 4.6 billion years. Pictured is Harrison H Schmitt examining a huge split boulder on the lunar surface during the Apollo 17 mission.

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High-temperature processes -

NASA scientists realized that all Moon rocks originated through high-temperature processes with little or no involvement with water (hence no life forms). Moon rocks are roughly divisible into three types: basalts, anorthosites, and breccias.

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The Genesis Rock -

A major find during the Apollo 15 mission was the retrieval by astronauts James Irwin and David Scott of a sample of Moon rock (sample 15415, in fact) that became known as the Genesis Rock. An anorthosite, or crust material, it was formed in the early stages of the solar system, at least four billion years ago. Naming the sample the Genesis Rock gave it a powerful connection to the wider human project of understanding creation.

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The Moon and the Earth -

It was concluded that the Moon and the Earth are genetically related. In other words, compositions of Moon rocks and Earth rocks clearly show common ancestry. Pictured is a satellite image showing the far side of the Moon as it crosses between the DSCOVR spacecraft and our planet.

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Devoid of life -

We now know that the Moon is lifeless. Extensive testing during the Apollo era revealed no evidence for life. Our nearest natural satellite contains no living organisms, fossils, or native organic compounds.

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An ocean of magma -

Here's an interesting fact: early in its history, the Moon was melted to great depths to form a "magma ocean." We know this because the lunar highlands (pictured) contain the remnants of early, low density rocks that floated to the surface of this semi-molten sea.

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The impact of asteroids -

The lunar magma ocean was followed by a series of huge asteroid impacts that created basins that were later filled by lava flows. Pictured is Schmidt crater in the lunar highlands.

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A dead sea -

Mare Imbrium is a vast lava plain, a long dead magma ocean, and one of the largest craters in the solar system.

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Asymmetrical in shape -

Unlike Earth, the Moon is slightly asymmetrical in bulk form, possibly as a consequence of its evolution under Earth's gravitational influence. Furthermore, its crust is thicker on the far side, while most volcanic basins occur on the near side.

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The Moon landings and climate change -

The Moon's surface is blanketed by a rubble of rock fragments and dust, called the lunar regolith. This cosmic detritus contains a unique radiation history of the Sun that is of importance to understanding climate changes on Earth.

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Galileo was right! -

Apollo 15 commander David Scott carried out a televised experiment on the Moon's surface to test Galileo's law of motion concerning falling bodies. He did this by dropping a feather and a geological hammer at the same time. Both landed on the lunar surface at the same instant. 

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The religious significance of the Moon landings -

Traveling into space took on a religious meaning for John Glenn—the first American to orbit Earth—when he said that he felt that wherever such exploration would bring man, God would certainly be there. After landing on the Moon, Buzz Aldrin (pictured) took Holy Communion—the first Christian sacrament ever performed on the lunar surface.

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Born-again Christian -

Apollo 15 astronaut James Irwin was a lapsed Christian but was born again after his experience walking on the Moon.

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The agnostic astronaut -

Apollo 16's John Young, however, was unmoved religiously by his experience. Interviewed back on Earth, the astronaut was asked whether he'd discovered God up there. "No. I don't think so." Asked why not, Young replied: "Because I think that the way things are in space are the way they are and I think that's a good thing. I think that if people have to go into space to discover God, they have some other kind of problem."

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Moon landing legacy -

Apollo's legacy is hugely significant. But perhaps most important of all, thanks to watching astronauts walk on the Moon, numerous children around the world were inspired to become scientists, engineers, or astronomers.

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The exploration continues -

American aerospace company Intuitive Machines successfully performed a historic moon landing in February 2024. Their unmanned M-1 lander, named Odyssey or “Odie” for short, became the first commercial spacecraft to soft-land on the moon. It was also the first American-made aircraft to land on the moon since the Apollo mission over 50 years ago.

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More to come -

Intuitive Machines is also collaborating with NASA in the further development of Odyssey, as the government agency intends to buy their landers to scout the moon in preparation for their next manned mission.

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The Artemis mission -

NASA plans to land the first woman ever on the Moon and the first man since 1972 through its Artemis program. Artemis is named after the Greek goddess of the moon and twin sister of Apollo, hence the mission's name. The Artemis program will search for and potentially extract resources such as water that can be converted into other usable resources such as oxygen and fuel.

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Dressed for the occasion -

During the Artemis III mission, astronauts will wear modern spacesuits that offer greater flexibility and movement than those used by other Apollo-era astronauts, allowing them to explore new regions of the Moon. These hi-tech, gender-neutral suits were designed by none other than luxury fashion house Prada.

Sources: (NASA) (ScienceDirect) (America Magazine) (State of the Planet) (CNN) 

See also: The dangers astronauts face during spacewalks

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