Sunday, July 19, 2020

As We Approach The 51st Anniversary of the First Walk on the Moon, Some Ephemera

Speaking of space....

July 21, 1969, at 02:56 UTC Neil Armstrong steps out of the lunar lander.
After waiting to see that Armstrong didn't die or anything Buzz Aldrin joined him at 03:15 UTC
They picked up some rocks, loitered a bit longer and headed back to earth.

From Space.com, July 24, 2019:

Back from the Moon, Apollo Astronauts Had to Go Through Customs
Apparently moon visitors are subject to the same procedures as others who leave the country.

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/pX7HB7ibMzg3an4YLs6MiW-650-80.jpg

...MUCH MORE

And from Buzz Aldrin's Twitter feed:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CLLjDg1VEAEIF_b?format=jpg&name=medium
"According to an article by NASA historians Steve Garber and Jennifer Ross-Nazzal and Customs and Border Protection Chief Historian David McKinney published last year, the customs form, which is an old legend, isn’t a legitimate document.

“We have concluded that the Apollo 11 document was completed afterward and is not an official, executed customs general declaration,” the article explains. It notes that the historians believe the crew’s signatures were likely autopenned or photocopied onto the form."
HuffPo