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Apollo: A Lunar Legacy
Fifty years ago, we put a man on the moon. NASA sent a rocket — lined with hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells, three spacecraft, and just as many astronauts — careening toward a distant satellite nearly 240,000 miles away, effectively ending the Space Race and uniting a fractured America. It remains one of the biggest achievements in human history, one grounded in decade’s worth of ingenuity and built upon an idea many believed to be a literal moonshot. In this series, we’ll explore the technological advances that made it all possible, their influence on everything from pop culture to power tools, and what’s next for everyone’s favorite celestial body. After all, Apollo 11 was only the beginning.
The evolution of NASA’s moon buggy is even wilder than where it landed
To this day, the thought that we've driven a vehicle on the moon is truly mind-boggling. The feat wasn't accomplished easily, however, nor was it without its hiccups. Here, we delve into the thought behind the Lunar Roving Vehicle, aka the moon buggy, and how it quickly came to fruition.
50 years later, the first camera on the moon is still collecting lunar dust
Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong weren't alone when they first stepped foot on the moon -- they had a Hasselblad camera in tow. Here, we look back at the camera that captured some of history's most iconic images, including our first steps on the moon and one of the best selfies to date.
From the moon to mass production: 10 pieces of modern tech indebted to Apollo
Illustrations by Chris DeGraw This article is part of , a multi-part series that explores the technological advances behind Apollo 11, their influence on modern day, and what’s next for the moon. You may have heard that freeze-dried food was invented to feed astronauts on the Apollo missions, and although “astronaut ice cream” was never […]
Prepare for liftoff! Here are all the moon missions happening in the next decade
Fifty years after the Apollo 11 mission first put astronauts on the moon, the next 10 years is looking poised to be the most significant period in lunar history in decades. What do we have to look forward to? Here, we outline what the next decade looks like as the Space Race heats up once again.
How pioneering pilot Jackie Cochran helped and hurt the Women in Space Program
Before Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space, Jackie Cochran funded the Women in Space Program. The pioneering pilot, who became the first woman to break the sound barrier and played a major role in efforts during World War II, never realized her dream of venturing into space.
Hollywood has had a field day with the moon, but these are the films to watch
In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission that put mankind on the surface of the moon, these are some of the best movies to feature the moon and the space race. From a 1902 silent film to a biopic of astronaut Neil Armstrong, these films celebrate humanity's pursuit of space travel.
Life after launch: Inside the massive effort to preserve NASA’s space artifacts
The Apollo 11 mission put a man on the moon, but NASA didn’t necessarily preserve every step of the process. Researchers are trying to rescue the history on Earth and on the moon.
Dark side of the moon: Why lunar landing conspiracies flourish online
Half a century after humans first walked on the moon, there are still people who doubt it happened. Although the internet has connected people around the world to each other and the collective knowledge of humanity, conspiracy theories are not just persisting but thriving on social media.