Cultural impact: 'Everybody was rooting for them'
The moon landing fulfilled an objective set by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, which was to land a man on the moon and return to Earth safely by the end of the decade.
The United States was in a rivalry with the Soviet Union that extended to the military and to space. The Russians were the first to send an unmanned satellite, Sputnik 1, to orbit the Earth in 1957 and the first to send a human into space in 1961. But NASA's success in landing a man on the moon represented a huge technological and scientific achievement.
Benefits from Apollo: the Dustbuster?
NASA had to invent new technology to land humans on the moon for the Apollo 11 and subsequent missions. Dozens of innovations were developed, later improved upon and are still being used today.
For instance, NASA's "cool suit" technology developed for astronauts is used by hazardous-material workers and firefighters.
Medical technology that originated in the Apollo missions was used to create a programmable system where doctors communicate with pacemakers through wireless signals.
Some inventions have become household commodities.
NASA was an early developer of cordless devices, which today are almost taken for granted in electric screwdrivers and drills.
Apollo astronauts used a portable drill to take core samples below the moon's surface. The device was optimized for power consumption, according to NASA, and Black & Decker, a manufacturing company, later refined the technology into a cordless handheld vacuum, the Dustbuster.
What's happened since?
The Apollo program included multiple launches to the moon in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The United States was in a rivalry with the Soviet Union that extended to the military and to space. The Russians were the first to send an unmanned satellite, Sputnik 1, to orbit the Earth in 1957 and the first to send a human into space in 1961. But NASA's success in landing a man on the moon represented a huge technological and scientific achievement.
Benefits from Apollo: the Dustbuster?
NASA had to invent new technology to land humans on the moon for the Apollo 11 and subsequent missions. Dozens of innovations were developed, later improved upon and are still being used today.For instance, NASA's "cool suit" technology developed for astronauts is used by hazardous-material workers and firefighters.
Medical technology that originated in the Apollo missions was used to create a programmable system where doctors communicate with pacemakers through wireless signals.
Some inventions have become household commodities.
NASA was an early developer of cordless devices, which today are almost taken for granted in electric screwdrivers and drills.
Apollo astronauts used a portable drill to take core samples below the moon's surface. The device was optimized for power consumption, according to NASA, and Black & Decker, a manufacturing company, later refined the technology into a cordless handheld vacuum, the Dustbuster.
What's happened since?
The Apollo program included multiple launches to the moon in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
A total of 12 men would walk on the moon. The "Last Man on the Moon" was Eugene Cernan, commander of the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
In the last decade or so, there have been a number of smaller, unmanned missions such as satellites and orbiters.
In the last decade or so, there have been a number of smaller, unmanned missions such as satellites and orbiters.
One of the highest profile missions was the 2009 launch of NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
The minivan-size spacecraft is designed to help lay the groundwork for the eventual return of astronauts to the moon by identifying safe landing sites. A science team led by ASU's Robinson oversees the cameras aboard the orbiter.
Hundreds of images are downloaded daily with the goal of mapping the entire moon at the camera's science operations center on ASU's Tempe campus.
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