Apollo 11

Greg Force and Abby Force at StoryCorps in Greenville, S.C.

How A 10-Year-Old Boy Helped Apollo 11 Return To Earth

2:26pm July 21, 2019

Greg Force was just a boy when his father, the director of a NASA tracking station in Guam, called home with an important mission for him: to help the crew of Apollo 11 return safely to Earth.

Queue Listen Now

Some of the space food that was scheduled to be carried on the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission included (from left to right): chicken and vegetables, beef hash, and beef and gravy.

50 Years After Apollo 11, Here's What (And How) Astronauts Are Eating

7:00am July 21, 2019

by Susie Neilson

Ever since astronaut John Glenn's first bite of applesauce in 1962, eating in space has been a challenge. NPR talks to former NASA food scientists to see how cosmic cuisine has evolved over the years.

Chuck Lowry, shown at home last month in Santa Ana, Calif., says hiring ramped up so quickly that they ran out of equipment: "I know people that took doors off of the offices and put them on sawhorses and that became their drafting table."

Science

The Making Of Apollo's Command Module: 2 Engineers Recall Tragedy And Triumph

5:23pm July 20, 2019

by Jacob Margolis

It was the only part of the Apollo 11 spacecraft that came back from the moon. Designing, testing and building it was a monumental task, according to two engineers who were part of the effort.

Freeze-dried foods were perfect for the weight-conscious Apollo missions, in which the spacecraft needed to stay lean enough to get to the moon and back.

Science

Space Spinoffs: The Technology To Reach The Moon Was Put To Use Back On Earth

8:42am July 20, 2019

Project Apollo spurred on a technological revolution — everything from advances in food packaging to computers. Fifty years later, we are still reaping the rewards.

Neil Armstrong tests out his spacesuit and camera in April 1969, three months before he would actually set foot on the moon.

Arts

Hollywood Shoots The Moon: 117 Years Of Lunar Landings At The Movies

4:09pm July 19, 2019

by Bob Mondello

Motion pictures went to the moon long before Apollo 11 did, and they keep going back. Critic Bob Mondello reflects on the many films, from 1902 to today, that have made the journey.

Science

Key Moments To The Lead-Up Of Apollo 11 Moon Landing

10:02am July 19, 2019

NPR's Noel King talks to historian Andrew Chaikin about the things that went wrong during the Apollo 11 moon landing. He wrote: Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts.

Queue Listen Now

Rock band "Blind Faith" pose for a portrait in 1969. (L-R): Steve Winwood, Ric Grech, Ginger Baker, Eric Clapton.

Music & Culture

Music Trumps Moon Landing

9:08am July 19, 2019

by Bob Boilen

All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen's defining teen moment came on the night of the first moonwalk. Instead of being glued to the TV, he went to a concert.

In this playlist, musicians imagine what it might be like to take a step on that bright glowing ball in the sky.

Music & Culture

Moon Tunes: Songs To Celebrate Our Glowing Orb

5:00am July 18, 2019

by Tom Huizenga

To mark the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing, a far-reaching playlist of off-the-beaten-orbit tracks for your space travels.

The crew of Apollo 11 is picked up after its splashdown.

Science

Seeing Apollo Through The Eyes Of Astronauts

8:00am July 17, 2019

by Ryan Kellman

Five former NASA astronauts who flew on space missions reflect on some of the awe-inspiring photos from Apollo 11, the first lunar landing flight.

Astronaut Alan L. Bean holds a container filled with lunar soil collected during the extravehicular activity in which astronauts Charles Conrad Jr., commander, and Bean, lunar module pilot, participated.

Science

The Camera That Went To The Moon And Changed How We See It

12:53pm July 13, 2019

by Scott Neuman

Astronaut Walter Schirra's decision to bring a Swedish-made Hasselblad on his Mercury spaceflight set the course for NASA's choice of the camera for the Apollo lunar program.