DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- Temporary Exhibit: 50 Years from Tranquility Base:
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- Description of Pictures: 50 Years from Tranquility Base
March 25, 2019 – March 13, 2020
On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon, while their colleague Michael Collins orbited overhead. This case, installed for the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing, contains artifacts from that historic journey.
The exhibition case features a replica of the American flag erected on the Moon, as well as artifacts displayed in three groups:
* Packing for the Moon
* Learning From the Moon
* Remembering the Moon
The case is on the 1st floor Concourse across from the Space Race gallery.
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- Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
- 50YRS_200214_01.JPG: 50 Years from Tranquility Base
Humanity's First Visit to Another World
On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon, while their colleague Michael Collins orbited overhead.
Most of the artifacts in this case come from the historic journey. Most will also be part of the Museums' new exhibition, Destination Moon. That gallery will tell the story of lunar exploration from ancient dreams to contemporary spacecraft missions.
- 50YRS_200214_15.JPG: This flag is a replica of the one put on the Moon by the astronauts of the Apollo 11 mission. The flag was constructed of nylon, and the flag pole had a crossbar to extend the flag (necessary without an atmosphere and wind).
- 50YRS_200214_21.JPG: Packing for the Moon
What would you take for a one-to-two week spaceflight?
The Apollo 11 astronauts packed provisions and equipment to eat, drink, and remove bodily wastes. They also had items to keep fit, respond to illness, and if necessary, survive an emergency landing on Earth far from rescue teams.
The Apollo 11 items here returned to Earth in the Command Module Columbia.
- 50YRS_200214_23.JPG: This inflight exerciser was designed to stretch and exercise the muscles of the Apollo 11 astronauts during their mission in July 1969.
Muscle retention and tone is lost quickly in gravity-free space if the muscles are not exercised on a regular basis.
- 50YRS_200214_26.JPG: Lunar Module Medical Kit
- 50YRS_200214_27.JPG: NASA issued this Omega Speedmaster chronograph to astronaut Neil Armstrong for use during the Apollo 11 mission of July 1969.
Selected after a series of rigorous tests demonstrated its high level of precision and reliability, the Speedmaster chronograph was chosen by NASA for the U.S. space program in 1964. Program requirements called for a manual-winding wrist chronograph that was water-proof, shock-proof, anti-magnetic, able to withstand temperatures ranging from 0 to 200 degrees Farenheit, and accelerations of up to 12 g's. NASA first certified the Omega Speedmaster as the chronograph for the Gemini program and made successive purchases for both the Apollo and the Skylab/ASTP missions.
- 50YRS_200214_29.JPG: Michael Collins' sunglasses, sunglass case
Marker pen
Penlight
- 50YRS_200214_32.JPG: Day 1 Meal Package
- 50YRS_200214_34.JPG: Pineapple Fruitcake
- 50YRS_200214_36.JPG: Surgical scissors
- 50YRS_200214_39.JPG: Learning from the Moon
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin brought home lunar samples, images, and data anxiously awaited by scientists and engineers on Earth.
The radiation dosimeter, transfer bag, and film magazine were used by the Apollo 11 crew on their mission. The soil sampler was used for training. The sample return container was a "rock box" used on Apollo 12 and 16. It is just like the ones carried on Apollo 11.
- 50YRS_200214_44.JPG: The ALSRC was an aluminum box with a triple seal. It was used on Apollo lunar landing missions to preserve a lunar-like vacuum around the samples and protect them from the shock environment of the Earth return flight. An aluminum mesh liner helped absorb the shock impacts. Prior to flight, each box was loaded with sample container bags and other sample containment devices. On the Moon, while samples were being loaded, the seals were protected by a Teflon film and a cloth cover which were removed just prior to closing the box. Two ALSRC's were used on each mission.
This Apollo Lunar Sample Return Container (ALSRC) was used on both Apollo 12 and 16. NASA transferred this ALSRC to the Smithsonian Institution in 1977.
- 50YRS_200214_48.JPG: Michael Collins' Passive Radiation Dosimeter
- 50YRS_200214_54.JPG: During the Apollo 11 mission, Magazine R was used inside the lunar module "Eagle" with an electric Hasselblad camera. The color images printed from this magazine include moments from inside the lunar module during undocking from the command module "Columbia" and continue through the crew's return to the spacecraft after their historic EVA to the lunar surface. No images from its film roll came from outside the lunar module. This magazine and the camera it attached to were modified with a silver metal exterior to repel the solar rays that could easily overheat and destroy this sensitive equipment on the lunar surface.
Hasselblad cameras and magazines, selected for their reliability and high quality, were used on all lunar missions. The magazines were easily switched out at any time, allowing crew members change between color and black and white film at a moments notice.
- 50YRS_200214_57.JPG: The Contingency Soil Sampler was a device which allowed the astronauts to quickly take a soil sample soon after they stepped onto the lunar surface. The sample was taken to the Lunar Module and stored for ascent to insure that some lunar soil would be returned to Earth even in the event of an emergency that forced early termination of the mission. Contingency samplers were taken on Apollo 11, 12, 14, and 15.
- 50YRS_200214_61.JPG: Remembering the Moon
After Neil Armstrong's death on August 25, 2012, his family discovered a white cloth bag in a closet. Realizing it contained space-related items, the family sent photos of them to the Museum.
After careful research, experts determined that the bag and its contents were from the Lunar Module Eagle. These are among the very few Apollo 11 artifacts brought back from Tranquility Base.
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