NASA

Daily Pic 07/20/18 (National Moon Day)

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NASA

Composite of photographs from the Apollo 15 mission


Today is National Moon Day, commemorating the day in 1969 that Neil Armstrong was the first person to set foot on the moon. Eleven other astronauts have gone on to follow in his bootsteps, including Commander David Scott and Lunar Module Pilot James Irwin, who took these historic photos during the Apollo 15 moon mission in 1971. We’ve stitched together their images to create this composite panorama of the landing site, where they spent three days conducting research. (If only they had selfie sticks back then.) Look for the ‘play’ button on our homepage to hear actual transmissions between the crew and the Mission Control Center in Houston.

Daily Pic 07/20/17

Moon Day
© Matt Cardy/Getty Images

The moon rises over Glastonbury Tor, England



Today in History 07/20 (Apollo 11 / Moon Landing)

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In this July 20, 1969 file photo, Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong, right, trudges across the surface of the moon (© AP)(1969) One giant leap for mankind as Armstrong walks on moon
NASA’s Apollo 11 Lunar Module lands 238,855 miles from Earth in the Sea of Tranquility and six hours later astronaut Neil Armstrong exits the vehicle, descends a short ladder, and becomes the first human to walk on the moon. Minutes later, astronaut Buzz Aldrin will join Armstrong on the surface. Millions back home tune in to the historic event.
Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that landed the first two people on the Moon. Mission commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin, both American, landed the lunar module Eagle on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC. Armstrong became the first person to step onto the lunar surface six hours after landing on July 21 at 02:56:15 UTC; Aldrin joined him about 20 minutes later. They spent about two and a quarter hours together outside the spacecraft, and collected 47.5 pounds of lunar material to bring back to Earth. Michael Collins piloted the command module Columbia alone in lunar orbit while they were on the Moon’s surface. Armstrong and Aldrin spent 21.5 hours on the lunar surface before rejoining Columbia in lunar orbit.
Mission start: Jul 16, 1969
Mission end: Jul 24, 1969
Astronauts: Neil Armstrong · Buzz Aldrin · Michael Collins
Space program: Apollo program
Destination: Moon

Buzz salutes the U.S. Flag
Buzz Aldrin salutes the U.S flag on the Moon (mission time: 110:10:33). His fingertips are visible on the far side of his faceplate. Note the well-defined footprints in the foreground. Buzz is facing up-Sun. There is a reflection of the Sun in his visor. At the bottom of Buzz’s faceplate, note the white ‘rim’ which is slightly separated from his neckring. This ‘rim’ is the bottom of his gold visor, which he has pulled down. We can see the LEC straps hanging down inside of the ladder strut. In the foreground, we can see the foot-grabbing loops in the TV cable. The double crater under Neil’s LM window is just beyond the LM shadow.
wiki/Apollo_11
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(1969) One giant leap for mankind as Armstrong walks on moon.
Also on this day,

1944 | German conspirators target Hitler in ’20 July Plot’ and fail
Adolf Hitler is only slightly injured with a concussion and mild burns when a briefcase bomb detonates at the ‘Wolf’s Lair,’ his Eastern Front command post in Prussia. Conspirators in the assassination plot, most of them high-level German Army officers, will be captured and executed.
1976 | Mars receives its first successful manmade visitor, Viking 1
Exactly seven years to the day that humans first walked on the moon, NASA’s Viking 1 becomes the first manmade object to land on another planet and complete its mission. Just hours after touchdown, the lander got to work, capturing the first clear image of the Martian surface.
1989 | Aung San Suu Kyi, a force for Burmese democracy becomes a political prisoner
Having helped form the National League for Democracy the previous year, Burma’s Aung San Suu Kyi is put under house arrest by her country’s ruling military junta, and will remain confined to her home on-and-off for 21 years. She will receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.

Today in History 07/20/17

The first color photograph taken on the surface of Mars, by the Viking 1 probe, July 20, 1976 (© MPI/Getty Images)(1976) Mars receives its first successful manmade visitor
Exactly seven years to the day that humans first walked on the moon, NASA's Viking 1 becomes the first manmade object to land on another planet and complete its mission. Just hours after touchdown, the lander got to work, capturing the first clear image of the Martian surface.
Viking 1 was the first of two spacecraft sent to Mars as part of NASA's Viking program. On July 20, 1976, it became the first spacecraft to land successfully on Mars and perform its mission. Viking 1 held the record for the longest Mars surface mission of 2307 days or 2245 sols until that record was broken by Opportunity on May 19, 2010.
Website: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/viking.html
Manufacturer: Jet Propulsion Laboratory

wiki/Viking_1
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RIP – John Glenn Dies at 95

RIP - John Glenn

John Herschel Glenn Jr. was an American aviator, engineer, astronaut, and United States Senator from Ohio. In 1962 he became the first American to orbit the Earth, circling three times. Before joining NASA, he was a distinguished fighter pilot in both World War II and Korea, with five Distinguished Flying Crosses and eighteen clusters.

Lived: Jul 18, 1921 – Dec 08, 2016 (age 95)
Height: 5′ 10″ (1.79 m)
Spouse: Annie Glenn (m. 1943)
Space agency: NASA
Education: Muskingum University
Children: John David Glenn (Son) · Carolyn Ann Glenn (Daughter)

Highlights

  • 1939: After graduating from New Concord High School in 1939, he studied Engineering at Muskingum College.

  • 1943: On April 6, 1943, Glenn married his childhood sweetheart, Anna Margaret Castor (b. 1920).

  • 1959: He was one of the “Mercury Seven” group of military test pilots selected in 1959 by NASA to become America’s first astronauts and fly the Project Mercury spacecraft.

  • 1962: On February 20, 1962, Glenn flew the Friendship 7 mission and became the first American to orbit the Earth and the fifth person in space, after cosmonauts Yuri Gagarin and Gherman Titov and the sub-orbital flights of Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom.

  • 2000: In 2000, Glenn received the U.S. Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards.

  • 2013: With the death of Scott Carpenter on October 10, 2013, Glenn became the last surviving member of the Mercury Seven.


Woman on Mars?

We often see what we want to see, make tricks of light to swear by the presence of something that may very well be a well timed coincidence. Wherever you land on that topic, true believer, skeptic or the pragmatist; one thing is for sure – we love mystery. A recent image from the Mars Curiosity Rover (original image) has fanned the flames of imagination once again. Is there woman there, whether in physical form, as a ghost or a statue – or NOT?
Highlighting Woman's Figure and Expanded View

Highlighting Woman’s Figure and Expanded View

If you love UFO theories, then click on the image to read UFO Sighting Daily’s take on it. [link]