It was named in honor of America’s national bird, while the mission’s command module, Columbia, was named after Columbiad, the giant canon that launched the moonship in Jules Verne’s novel From the Earth to the Moon. Ever wonder where the trusty Apollo 11 lunar module got its moniker?
“The Eagle has landed,” is one of the most famous quotes in NASA history. The Apollo 11 Lunar Module Eagle, in a landing configuration. NASA Command and Lunar Modules have the best names. The company’s video promoting its current Apollo 11-inspired doughnuts is hilarious. This marketing ploy is not just empty calories: Krispy Kreme was at the launch of Apollo 11 in 1969, serving fresh doughnuts to Americans who had gathered to witness lift-off of this monumental mission. Space geeks with a sweet tooth can bite into the newly launched (pun absolutely intended!) Original Filled Doughnut with a choice of two delectable fillings: “Classic Kreme” or “Chocolate Kreme.” Sugar alert! Krispy Kreme is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing with a mouthwatering twist on its classic Original Glazed doughnut. While the Apollo Guidance Computer systems that powered Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins to the moon and back in July 1969 were cutting-edge for the time, they’re technologically primitive compared to the cell phones and smartwatches we use half a century later.Īs this Houston Chronicle article illustrates, today’s Samsung Galaxy S10 Smartphone6, with its eight gigabytes of memory, is light years ahead of the Apollo 11’s computer, which propelled our fearless astronauts to the moon and back with only two kilobytes. Your cellphone is more powerful than Apollo 11’s computers. What were Armstong’s famous first words? Listen to NASA’s original audio file, below, and let us know what you think!ģ.
They analyzed recordings of conversational speech from 40 people raised in Columbus, Ohio, near Armstrong’s hometown of Wapakoneta, and found that they typically blended the words “for a” so they sound like “frrr(uh)”.
Researchers from Michigan State University and Ohio State University set out to solve the mystery, and their findings seem to back up Armstrong’s assertion. Armstrong has always insisted that he said “one small step for a man,” not the widely quoted “one small step for man,” and the grainy NASA audio recordings don’t offer a definitive answer. Those were the first words NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong famously uttered when he set foot on the moon in 1969…or were they? As it turns out, Armstrong has likely been misquoted for nearly half a century.įake news? Not exactly. “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” There’s a mystery surrounding Neil Armstrong’s famous quote.Īpollo 11 Crew, l to r: Neil Armstrong, commander Michael Collins, command module pilot and Edwin E. Have some Tang,” declares this 1966 Tang commercial. Pour yourself a nice cold glass of Tang and enjoy this tasty vintage commercial! “Tang: chosen for the Gemini astronauts. But when Apollo 11 whirled into orbit, NASA didn’t want another advertising campaign based on the astronauts’ use of a commercial product. Astronauts brought Tang on their missions and all manned space flights from 1965–1975, and Tang even sponsored ABC-TV’s coverage of Apollo 8, America’s first manned flight around the moon.Īs this Food & Wine article explains, NASA made Tang cool. The powder-based orange drink from General Foods – ideal for consumption in a zero-gravity environment – soared to celebrity status in 1962 when Mercury astronaut John Glenn performed eating experiments while orbiting Earth aboard Friendship 7. The American flag the Apollo 11 astronauts planted on the moon was manufactured by Sears, but NASA wanted that information kept secret. 1969: Tang launches “For Spacemen and Earth Families” ad.