NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captures high noon at Tranquility Base.

Dr. Thomas T. Meek of The Crown College in Powell, Tennessee addressed the March, 2020 Tech Talk forum on the topic of Microwave Processing of Ceramics as it Pertains to the Proposed Lunar Base.

Dr. Thomas T. Meek of The Crown College in Powell, Tennessee addressed the March, 2020 Tech Talk forum on the topic of Microwave Processing of Ceramics as it Pertains to the Proposed Lunar Base.

Dr. Thomas T. Meek of The Crown College in Powell, Tennessee addressed the March, 2020 Tech Talk forum on the topic of Microwave Processing of Ceramics as it Pertains to the Proposed Lunar Base.

Dr. Thomas T. Meek of The Crown College in Powell, Tennessee addressed the March, 2020 Tech Talk forum on the topic of Microwave Processing of Ceramics as it Pertains to the Proposed Lunar Base.

jsc2008e040725 - Panorama view of Apollo 11 Lunar surface photos taken by Astronaut Neil Armstrong at Tranquility Base of a crater Armstrong noted during the Lunar Module descent. The panoramas were built by combining Apollo 11 images starting with frame AS11-40-5954 through end frame AS11-40-5961. The panoramic images received minimal retouching by NASA imagery specialists, including the removal of lens flares that were problematic in stitching together the individual frames and blacking out the sky to the lunar horizon. These adjustments were made based on observations of the Moon walkers who reported that there are no stars visible in the sky due to the bright lunar surface reflection of the Sun.

A schematic shows the daytime cycle of hydration, loss and rehydration on the lunar surface. This theory is based on data from NASA Deep Impact mission.

A sinuous rille created by a lava flow snakes around the base of a massif in the Prinz-Harbinger region on the Moon in this image taken by NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Workers move the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle, or LLRV, into the Edwards Air Force Base Flight Test Museum in California for temporary display.

Artist: Rick Guidice Space Colonization, Habitat on Lunar base (Artwork)

Artist: Rick Guidice Space Colonization, Habitat on Lunar base (Artwork)

ARTIST: RICK GUIDICE SPACE COLONIZATION, MANUFACTURING, HABITAT AND LUNAR BASE (ARTWORK)

A science instrument flying aboard the next delivery for NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative is expected to significantly expand our knowledge of the Moon. Next Generation Lunar Retroreflector, or NGLR-1, is one of 10 payloads set to be carried to the Moon by the Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander in 2025. Developed by the University of Maryland in College Park, NGLR-1 is designed to reflect very short laser pulses from Earth-based lunar laser ranging observatories using a retroreflector, or a mirror designed to reflect the incoming light back in the same incoming direction. Investigations and demonstrations, such as NGLR-1, launched on CLPS flights will help NASA study Earth’s nearest neighbor under Artemis and pave the way for future crewed missions on the Moon. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the development for seven of the 10 CLPS payloads that will be carried on Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander.

S69-56058 (25 Oct. 1969) --- Astronaut Charles Conrad Jr., commander of the Apollo 12 lunar landing mission, sits in the cockpit of a Lunar Landing Training Vehicle (LLTV) during a lunar simulation flight at Ellington Air Force Base. The LLTV is used to train Apollo crews in lunar landing techniques.

S72-53952 (November 1972) --- The Traverse Gravimeter Experiment (S-199), with cover removed, which will be used by the Apollo 17 crewmen at the Taurus-Littrow landing site. The purposes of this experiment are to make a high accuracy relative survey of the lunar gravitational field in the lunar landing area and to make an Earth-moon gravity tie. Specific experiment objectives related to these purposes are to: (1) measure the value of gravity, relative to the value at a lunar base station, at selected known locations along the lunar traverse; (2) measure the value of gravity at a known point on the lunar surface (base station) relative to the value of gravity at a known point on Earth.

This 1970 artist's concept shows the Nuclear Shuttle and Space Tug operating in conjunction with other spacecraft to support lunar exploration. Marshall Space Flight Center plans during the late 1960s for lunar orbital and surface bases required extensive logistics operations in lunar orbit.

JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON, TEXAS - Surrounded by Man's footprints on the lunar surface, Apollo 11 Lunar Module Pilot Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. erects a solar wind experiment near the Tranquility Base established by the Lunar Module, Eagle.

In this 1965 NASA Flight Reserch Center photograph the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV) is shown at near maximum altitude over the south base at Edwards Air Force Base. When Apollo planning was underway in 1960, NASA was looking for a simulator to profile the descent to the moon's surface. Three concepts surfaced: an electronic simulator, a tethered device, and the ambitious Dryden contribution, a free-flying vehicle. All three became serious projects, but eventually the NASA Flight Research Center's (FRC) Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV) became the most significant one. Hubert M. Drake is credited with originating the idea, while Donald Bellman and Gene Matranga were senior engineers on the project, with Bellman, the project manager. Simultaneously, and independently, Bell Aerosystems Company, Buffalo, N.Y., a company with experience in vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, had conceived a similar free-flying simulator and proposed their concept to NASA headquarters. NASA Headquarters put FRC and Bell together to collaborate. The challenge was; to allow a pilot to make a vertical landing on Earth in a simulated moon environment, one sixth of the Earth's gravity and with totally transparent aerodynamic forces in a "free flight" vehicle with no tether forces acting on it. Built of tubular aluminum like a giant four-legged bedstead, the vehicle was to simulate a lunar landing profile from around 1500 feet to the moon's surface. To do this, the LLRV had a General Electric CF-700-2V turbofan engine mounted vertically in gimbals, with 4200 pounds of thrust. The engine, using JP-4 fuel, got the vehicle up to the test altitude and was then throttled back to support five-sixths of the vehicle's weight, simulating the reduced gravity of the moon. Two hydrogen-peroxide lift rockets with thrust that could be varied from 100 to 500 pounds handled the LLRV's rate of descent and horizontal translations. Sixteen smaller hydrogen-peroxide rockets, mounted in pairs, gav

AS11-40-5881 (20 July 1969) --- This 70mm handheld camera's image on the Sea of Tranquility's lunar surface is the first of a multi-framed panorama photographed from a point some 30 or 40 feet west of the plus-Z (west) footpad of the Lunar Module "Eagle." The view is looking toward the southwest showing part of the horizon crater rim that was pointed out as being visible from the Eagle's window.

AS11-40-5866 (20 July 1969) --- Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot, egresses the Lunar Module (LM) "Eagle" and begins to descend the steps of the LM ladder as he prepares to walk on the moon. This photograph was taken by astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, commander, with a 70mm lunar surface camera during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity (EVA). While astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin descended in the LM "Eagle" to explore the moon, astronaut Michael Collins, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) "Columbia" in lunar orbit. Photo credit: NASA

AS11-40-5874 (20 July 1969) --- Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot of the first lunar landing mission, poses for a photograph beside the deployed United States flag during Apollo 11 extravehicular activity (EVA) on the lunar surface. The Lunar Module (LM) is on the left, and the footprints of the astronauts are clearly visible in the soil of the moon. Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, commander, took this picture with a 70mm Hasselblad lunar surface camera. While astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin descended in the LM the "Eagle" to explore the Sea of Tranquility region of the moon, astronaut Michael Collins, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) "Columbia" in lunar orbit.

AS11-40-5873 (20 July 1969) --- Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot, is photographed during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity (EVA) on the lunar surface. In the right background is the lunar module. On Aldrin's right is the Solar Wind Composition (SWC) experiment, already deployed. This photograph was taken by astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, commander, with a 70mm lunar surface camera.

S69-39996 (25 July 1969) --- The first Apollo 11 sample return container, with lunar surface material inside, is unloaded at the Lunar Receiving Laboratory, Building 37, Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). The rock box had arrived only minutes earlier at Ellington Air Force Base by air from the Pacific recovery area. The lunar samples were collected by astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. during their lunar surface extravehicular activity.

S69-39270 (10 July 1969) --- Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission, participates in lunar extravehicular activity training under weightlessness conditions aboard a U.S. Air Force KC-135 jet aircraft from nearby Patrick Air Force Base. Aldrin is wearing an Extravehicular Mobility Unit, the type of equipment which he will wear on the lunar surface.

JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON, TEXAS - Apollo 11 Lunar Module Pilot Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. deployes the Passive Seismic Experiment Package (PSE) on the Moon's surface near Tranquility Base. The sensitive instrument remained behind on the lunar surface to radio back information concerning moonquakes, landslides and meteorite impacts.

AS15-85-11514 (31 July-2 Aug. 1971) --- Astronaut David R. Scott, commander, standing on the slope of Hadley Delta, uses a 70mm camera during Apollo 15 extravehicular activity (EVA) on the lunar surface. He is 10.5 miles (or 17.5 kilometers) from the base of the Apennine Mountains seen in the background. Scott carries tongs in his left hand. The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) is in the background. This view is looking east. While astronauts Scott and James B. Irwin, lunar module pilot, descended in the Lunar Module (LM) "Falcon" to explore the moon, astronaut Alfred M. Worden, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) in lunar orbit.

S70-56287 (14 Dec. 1970) --- Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr., commander of the Apollo 14 lunar landing mission, stands near a Lunar Landing Training Vehicle (LLTV) prior to a test flight at Ellington Air Force Base, Houston, on Dec. 14, 1970. Shepard will be at the controls of the Apollo 14 Lunar Module (LM) when it lands on the moon in the highlands near Fra Mauro. Astronaut Stuart A. Roosa, command module pilot, will remain with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) in lunar orbit while astronauts Shepard and Edgar D. Mitchell, lunar module pilot, descend in the LM to explore the moon.

S69-39269 (10 July 1969) --- Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission, undergoes zero-gravity training aboard a U.S. Air Force KC-135 jet aircraft from nearby Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. Aldrin is wearing an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), the type of equipment which he will wear on the lunar surface.

S69-40110 (25 July 1969) --- The first Apollo 11 sample return container, containing lunar surface material, is photographed just after it arrives at the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL), Building 37, Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). The box arrived by air at Ellington Air Force Base just before noon on Friday, July 25, 1969, from the Pacific recovery area. It was taken immediately to the Manned Spacecraft Center. The lunar samples were collected by astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. during their lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA).

S73-15713 (January 1973) --- A close-up view of Apollo 17 lunar rock sample No. 76055 being studied and analyzed in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center. This tan-gray irregular, rounded breccia was among many lunar samples brought back from the Taurus-Littrow landing site by the Apollo 17 crew. The rock measures 18 x 20 x 25 centimeters (7.09 x 7.87 x 9.84 inches) and weighs 6,389 grams (14.2554 pounds). The rock was collected from the south side of the lunar roving vehicle while the Apollo 17 astronauts were at Station 7 (base of North Massif).

PATRICK AFB, Fla. – Apollo 11 command module pilot Michael Collins, just arrived at Patrick Air Force Base in a T-38 jet in preparation of the nation’s first lunar landing mission. Lift off atop a Saturn V launch vehicle is scheduled for July 16, 1969. During Apollo 11, the command module, Columbia, will remain in orbit around the moon while the lunar module, Eagle, carrying Armstrong and Aldrin, lands on the lunar surface. During 2½ hours of surface exploration, the crew plans to collect lunar surface material for analysis back on Earth. For more: http:__www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov_history_apollo_apollo-11_apollo-11.htm Photo credit: NASA

jsc2011e118361 - Panorama view of Apollo 15 lunar module pilot James B. Irwin, using a scoop in making a trench in the lunar soil during the second moonwalk of the mission. The panoramas were built by combining Apollo 15 images starting with frame AS15-92-12420 thru end frame AS15-92-12438. The panoramic images received minimal retouching by NASA imagery specialists, including the removal of lens flares that were problematic in stitching together the individual frames and blacking out the sky to the lunar horizon. These adjustments were made based on observations of the Moon walkers who reported that there are no stars visible in the sky due to the bright lunar surface reflection of the Sun.

PATRICK AFB, Fla. – In preparation of the nation’s first lunar landing mission, Apollo 11 crew members arrive at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. Mission commander Neil Armstrong climbs out of a T-38 jet. Lift off atop a Saturn V launch vehicle is scheduled for July 16, 1969. During Apollo 11 the command module, Columbia, will remain in orbit around the moon while the lunar module, Eagle, carrying Armstrong and Aldrin, lands on the lunar surface. During 2½ hours of surface exploration, the crew plans to collect lunar surface material for analysis back on Earth. For more: http:__www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov_history_apollo_apollo-11_apollo-11.htm Photo credit: NASA

AS15-92-12424 (31 July-2 Aug. 1971) --- Astronaut James B. Irwin, lunar module pilot, uses a scoop in making a trench in the lunar soil during Apollo 15 extravehicular activity (EVA) on the moon. Mount Hadley, which rises approximately 14,765 feet (about 4,500 meters) above the plain, is in the background. Its base is some 14 kilometers (about 8.4 miles) away. The gnomon is at left. While astronauts Irwin, and David R. Scott, commander, descended in the Lunar Module (LM) to explore the moon, astronaut Alfred M. Worden, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) in lunar orbit.

AS17-146-22294 (13 Dec. 1972) --- Scientist-astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt is photographed working beside a huge boulder at Station 6 (base of North Massif) during the third Apollo 17 extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Taurus-Littrow landing site. The front portion of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) is visible on the left. This picture was taken by astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, Apollo 17 commander. Schmitt is the lunar module pilot. While astronauts Cernan and Schmitt descended in the Lunar Module (LM) "Challenger" to explore the moon, astronaut Ronald E. Evans, command module pilot, remained with the Apollo 17 Command and Service Modules (CSM) in lunar orbit.

AS16-108-17622 (22 April 1972) --- Astronaut John W. Young, commander of the Apollo 16 lunar landing mission, reaches for tools in the Apollo Lunar Hand Tool Carrier at the aft end of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) during the second Apollo 16 extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Descartes landing site. This photograph was taken by astronaut Charles M. Duke Jr., lunar module pilot. This view is looking south from the base of Stone Mountain. While astronauts Young and Duke descended in the Lunar Module (LM) "Orion" to explore the Descartes highlands region of the moon, astronaut Thomas K. Mattingly II, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) "Casper" in lunar orbit.

S70-30534 (9 March 1970) --- A Lunar Landing Training Vehicle (LLTV), piloted by astronaut James A. Lovell Jr., sets down on the runway at the conclusion of a test flight at Ellington Air Force Base. Lovell is the commander of the Apollo 13 lunar landing mission. Lovell used the LLTV to practice lunar landing techniques in preparation for his scheduled mission. Lovell will be at the controls of the Apollo 13 Lunar Module (LM) when it lands on the moon in the highlands just north of Fra Mauro. Astronaut Thomas K. Mattingly II, command module pilot, will remain with the Apollo 13 Command and Service Modules (CSM) in lunar orbit while astronauts Lovell and Fred W. Haise Jr., lunar module pilot, descend in the LM to explore the moon. A hovering helicopter watches the LLTV landing.

S71-41759 (2 Aug. 1971) --- A partial view of activity in the Mission Operations Control Room in the Mission Control Center during the liftoff of the Apollo 15 Lunar Module "Falcon" ascent stage from the lunar surface. An RCA color television camera mounted on the Lunar Roving Vehicle made it possible for people on Earth to watch the LM's spectacular launch from the moon. The LM liftoff was at 171:37 ground elapsed time. The LRV was parked about 300 feet east of the LM. The TV camera was remotely controlled from a console in the MOCR. Seated in the right foreground is astronaut Edgar D. Mitchell, a spacecraft communicator. Mitchell was lunar module pilot of the Apollo 14 lunar landing mission. Note liftoff on the television monitor in the center background.

PATRICK AFB, Fla. – In preparation of the nation’s first lunar landing mission, Apollo 11 crew members arrive at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. Lunar module pilot Edwin E. Buzz Aldrin Jr. is in the front seat of the T-38 jet, with command module pilot Michael Collins, in the back. Lift off atop a Saturn V launch vehicle is scheduled for July 16, 1969. During Apollo 11 the command module, Columbia, will remain in orbit around the moon while the lunar module, Eagle, carrying Armstrong and Aldrin, lands on the lunar surface. During 2½ hours of surface exploration, the crew plans to collect lunar surface material for analysis back on Earth. For more: http:__www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov_history_apollo_apollo-11_apollo-11.htm Photo credit: NASA

PATRICK AFB, Fla. – In preparation of the nation’s first lunar landing mission, Apollo 11 crew members arrive at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. Lunar module pilot Edwin E. Buzz Aldrin Jr. is in the front seat of the T-38 jet, with command module pilot Michael Collins, in the back. Lift off atop a Saturn V launch vehicle is scheduled for July 16, 1969. During Apollo 11 the command module, Columbia, will remain in orbit around the moon while the lunar module, Eagle, carrying Armstrong and Aldrin, lands on the lunar surface. During 2½ hours of surface exploration, the crew plans to collect lunar surface material for analysis back on Earth. For more: http:__www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov_history_apollo_apollo-11_apollo-11.htm Photo credit: NASA

AS15-88-11866 (1 Aug. 1971) --- Astronaut James B. Irwin, lunar module pilot, gives a military salute while standing beside the deployed United States flag during the Apollo 15 lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Hadley-Apennine landing site. The flag was deployed toward the end of EVA-2. The Lunar Module (LM) "Falcon" is in the center. On the right is the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). This view is looking almost due south. Hadley Delta in the background rises approximately 4,000 meters (about 13,124 feet) above the plain. The base of the mountain is approximately 5 kilometers (about 3 statute miles) away. This photograph was taken by astronaut David R. Scott, Apollo 15 commander. While astronauts Scott and Irwin descended in the LM to explore the moon, astronaut Alfred M. Worden, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) in lunar orbit.

jsc2011e118359 - Panorama view of Apollo 15 lunar surface photos south of Station 2 taken by lunar module pilot James B. Irwin. Astronaut David R. Scott, mission commander, performs a task at the Lunar Roving Vehicle parked on the edge of Hadley Rille (Rima Hadley) during the first moonwalk of the mission. The panoramas were built by combining Apollo 15 images starting with frame AS15-85-11448 thru end frame AS15-85-11453. The panoramic images received minimal retouching by NASA imagery specialists, including the removal of lens flares that were problematic in stitching together the individual frames and blacking out the sky to the lunar horizon. These adjustments were made based on observations of the Moon walkers who reported that there are no stars visible in the sky due to the bright lunar surface reflection of the Sun.

jsc2012e052597 - Panorama view from the Apollo 16 Lunar Module (LM) window taken on-orbit during Revolution 16 of the mission. The panoramas were built by combining Apollo 16 images starting with frame AS16-113-18297 thru end frame AS16-113-18307. The panoramic images received minimal retouching by NASA imagery specialists, including the removal of lens flares that were problematic in stitching together the individual frames and blacking out the sky to the lunar horizon. These adjustments were made based on observations of the Moon walkers who reported that there are no stars visible in the sky due to the bright lunar surface reflection of the Sun.

jsc2011e118362 - Panorama view of Apollo 16 lunar surface photos of the Station 10 and Sample 381 Rock taken during the second moonwalk of the mission. The panoramas were built by combining Apollo 16 images starting with frame AS16-114-18450 thru end frame AS16-114-18467. The panoramic images received minimal retouching by NASA imagery specialists, including the removal of lens flares that were problematic in stitching together the individual frames and blacking out the sky to the lunar horizon. These adjustments were made based on observations of the Moon walkers who reported that there are no stars visible in the sky due to the bright lunar surface reflection of the Sun.

NASA's Lunar Lander exhibit is located at the Mississippi I-10 Welcome Center in Hancock County, Miss., just west of Bay St. Louis and 45 miles east of New Orleans on I-10 at Exit 2. The exhibit features a 30-foot-tall replica of a Lunar Lander used as a trainer by the Apollo 13 astronauts. Apollo 13 astronaut and Mississippi native Fred Haise left space-boot prints and signature in concrete at the base of the exhibit.

THIS CONCEPT IMAGE SHOWS THE ARES V CARGO LAUNCH VEHICLE. THE HEAVY LIFTING ARES V IS NASA'S PRIMARY VEHICLE FOR SAFE AND RELIABLE DELIVERY OF LARGE SCALE HARDWARE TO SPACE. THIS INCLUDES THE LUNAR LANDER, MATERIALS FOR ESTABLISHING A PERMANENT MOON BASE, AND THE VEHICLES AND HARDWARE NEEDED TO EXTEND A HUMAN PRESENCE BEYOND EARTH ORBIT. ARES V CAN CARRY APPROXIMATELY 290,000 POUNDS TO LOW EARTH ORBIT AND 144,000 POUNDS TO LUNAR ORBIT.

Panoramas of Apollo sites are required to familiarize various Constellation projects with the actual nature of the lunar surface. This image is the first of a multi-framed panorama photographed from a point some 30 or 40 feet west of the plus-Z (west) footpad of the Lunar Module "Eagle." The view is looking toward the southwest showing part of the horizon crater rim that was pointed out as being visible from the Eagle's window. Image taken at Tranquility Base. View was created using Apollo 11 images - mag 40 frames 5881 thru 5891.

This illustration of Moon to Mars transportation and habitation shows astronauts driving a pressurized rover away from the dome of a translucent lunar habitat. NASA’s Moon to Mars Objectives establish an objectives-based approach to the agency's human deep space exploration efforts; NASA’s Moon to Mars Architecture approach distills the objectives into operational capabilities and elements.

This illustration of Moon to Mars multidisciplinary science shows astronauts collecting and analyzing lunar regolith. NASA’s Moon to Mars Objectives establish an objectives-based approach to the agency's human deep space exploration efforts; NASA’s Moon to Mars Architecture approach distills the objectives into operational capabilities and elements.

Sharad Bhaskaran, mission director for Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic, delivers the monthly Tech Talk on Sept. 12 in Building 4221 at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. Bhaskaran presented Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander which will deliver payloads to the surface of the Moon for government and commercial customers, including NASA.

This artist's concept depicts a small rover – part of NASA's CADRE (Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration) technology demonstration headed for the Moon – on the lunar surface. Motiv Space Systems in Pasadena, California, created the rendering and is collaborating with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on critical rover and mobility functions. Slated to arrive aboard a lunar lander in 2024 under NASA's CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative, CADRE is designed to demonstrate that multiple robots can cooperate and explore together autonomously – without direct input from human mission controllers. A trio of the miniature solar-powered rovers, each about the size of a carry-on suitcase, will explore the Moon as a team, communicating via radio with each other and a base station aboard a lunar lander. By taking simultaneous measurements from multiple locations, CADRE will also demonstrate how multirobot missions can record data impossible for a single robot to achieve – a tantalizing prospect for future missions. Motiv contributed subsystems and hardware elements for three of four CADRE systems, including designing and building the mobility system and rover chassis, the base station, the rover deployers, and the motor controller boards. The company also procured and tested the actuators with the flight motor controller boards. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26161

jsc2011e118358 - Panorama view of Apollo 12 lunar surface photos with lunar module pilot Alan L. Bean and the TV taken from just inside the rim of Surveyor Crater on the first moonwalk of the mission. The panoramas were built by combining Apollo 12 images starting with frame AS12-46-6777 thru end frame AS12-46-6780. The panoramic images received minimal retouching by NASA imagery specialists, including the removal of lens flares that were problematic in stitching together the individual frames and blacking out the sky to the lunar horizon. These adjustments were made based on observations of the Moon walkers who reported that there are no stars visible in the sky due to the bright lunar surface reflection of the Sun.

NASA’s Lunar Prospector is readied for launch as its gantry-like service tower is rolled back again at Cape Canaveral Air Station’s Launch Complex 46. The launch, previously scheduled for Jan. 5, was postponed one day due to a problem with a range safety radar located at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla. Lunar Prospector, built for the NASA Ames Research Center by Lockheed Martin, is a spin-stabilized spacecraft designed to provide NASA with the first global maps of the Moon’s surface and its gravitational magnetic fields, as well as look for the possible presence of ice near the lunar poles. It will orbit the Moon at an altitude of approximately 63 miles during a one-year mission. The launch of Lunar Prospector is now scheduled for Jan. 6, 1998 at 9:28 p.m. EST

PATRICK AFB, Fla. – Apollo 11 commander Neil A. Armstrong, left, and Donald K. Slayton, chief astronaut and director of flight crew operations, just arrived at Patrick Air Force Base in a T-38 jet in preparation of the nation’s first lunar landing mission. Lift off atop a Saturn V launch vehicle is scheduled for July 16, 1969. During Apollo 11 the command module, Columbia, will remain in orbit around the moon while the lunar module, Eagle, carrying Armstrong and Aldrin, lands on the lunar surface. During 2½ hours of surface exploration, the crew plans to collect lunar surface material for analysis back on Earth. For more: http:__www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov_history_apollo_apollo-11_apollo-11.htm Photo credit: NASA

jsc2004e20304 - Panorama view of Apollo 17 lunar surface photos for Station 5 at the Taurus-Littrow landing site taken during the second moonwalk of the mission by Apollo 17 commander Eugene Cernan and lunar module pilot Harrison (Jack) Schmitt. The panoramas were built by combining Apollo 17 images starting with frame AS17-145-22159 through end frame AS17-145-22181. The panoramic images received minimal retouching by NASA imagery specialists, including the removal of lens flares that were problematic in stitching together the individual frames and blacking out the sky to the lunar horizon. These adjustments were made based on observations of the Moon walkers who reported that there are no stars visible in the sky due to the bright lunar surface reflection of the Sun.

NASA’s Lunar Prospector is readied for launch as its gantry-like service tower is rolled back again at Cape Canaveral Air Station’s Launch Complex 46. The launch, previously scheduled for Jan. 5, was postponed one day due to a problem with a range safety radar located at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla. Lunar Prospector, built for the NASA Ames Research Center by Lockheed Martin, is a spin-stabilized spacecraft designed to provide NASA with the first global maps of the Moon’s surface and its gravitational magnetic fields, as well as look for the possible presence of ice near the lunar poles. It will orbit the Moon at an altitude of approximately 63 miles during a one-year mission. The launch of Lunar Prospector is now scheduled for Jan. 6, 1998 at 9:28 p.m. EST

jsc2011e118363 - Panorama view of Apollo 16 commander Astronaut John W. Young, working at the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) just prior to deployment of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) during the first moonwalk of the mission on April 21, 1972. The panoramas were built by combining Apollo 16 images starting with frame AS16-116-18573 thru end frame AS16-116-18581. The panoramic images received minimal retouching by NASA imagery specialists, including the removal of lens flares that were problematic in stitching together the individual frames and blacking out the sky to the lunar horizon. These adjustments were made based on observations of the Moon walkers who reported that there are no stars visible in the sky due to the bright lunar surface reflection of the Sun.

S72-53471 (November 1972) --- The Infrared Scanning Radiometer, Experiment S-171, one of the lunar orbital science experiments which will be mounted in the SIM bay of the Apollo 17 Service Module. The ISR experiment will provide a lunar surface temperature map with improved temperature and spatial resolution over what has been impossible before. Previous Earth-based observations of the lunar surface thermal balance have been limited to the front side with a temperature resolution of about 210 degrees K (-80 degrees F) and a surface resolution of about 15 kilometers (9.3 miles). When correlated with orbital photography and lunar sounder data, ISR temperature measurements are expected to aid in locating surface rock fields, crustal structural differences, volcanic activity and fissures emitting "hot" gases.

AS16-107-17561 (16-27 April 1972) --- One of the Apollo 16 astronauts scoops up lunar soil at the base of a small boulder at Station No. 9 during the second Apollo 16 extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Descartes landing site. Depressions to the right of the scoop were made when a surface sample was taken. This photograph was taken just before the boulder was rolled over. While astronauts John W. Young, commander; and Charles M. Duke Jr., lunar module pilot; descended in the Apollo 16 Lunar Module (LM) "Orion" to explore the Descartes highlands landing site on the moon, astronaut Thomas K. Mattingly II, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) "Casper" in lunar orbit.

NASA’s Lunar Prospector is readied for launch as its gantry-like service tower is rolled back again at Cape Canaveral Air Station’s Launch Complex 46. The launch, previously scheduled for Jan. 5, was postponed one day due to a problem with a range safety radar located at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla. Lunar Prospector, built for the NASA Ames Research Center by Lockheed Martin, is a spin-stabilized spacecraft designed to provide NASA with the first global maps of the Moon’s surface and its gravitational magnetic fields, as well as look for the possible presence of ice near the lunar poles. It will orbit the Moon at an altitude of approximately 63 miles during a one-year mission. The launch of Lunar Prospector is now scheduled for Jan. 6, 1998 at 9:28 p.m. EST

PATRICK AFB, Fla. – In preparation of the nation’s first lunar landing mission, Apollo 11 crew members arrive at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. Mission commander Neil A. Armstrong is in the front seat of the T-38 jet, with chief astronaut and director of flight crew operations, Donald K. Slayton, in the back. Lift off atop a Saturn V launch vehicle is scheduled for July 16, 1969. During Apollo 11 the command module, Columbia, will remain in orbit around the moon while the lunar module, Eagle, carrying Armstrong and Aldrin, lands on the lunar surface. During 2½ hours of surface exploration, the crew plans to collect lunar surface material for analysis back on Earth. For more: http:__www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov_history_apollo_apollo-11_apollo-11.htm Photo credit: NASA

jsc2004e52779 - Panorama view of Apollo 17 lunar surface photos for Station 6 taken during the third moonwalk of the mission by Apollo 17 commander Eugene Cernan and lunar module pilot Harrison (Jack) Schmitt. The panoramas were built by combining Apollo 17 images starting with frame AS17-141-21575 through end frame AS17-141-21603. The panoramic images received minimal retouching by NASA imagery specialists, including the removal of lens flares that were problematic in stitching together the individual frames and blacking out the sky to the lunar horizon. These adjustments were made based on observations of the Moon walkers who reported that there are no stars visible in the sky due to the bright lunar surface reflection of the Sun.

NASA’s Lunar Prospector is readied for launch as its gantry-like service tower is rolled back again at Cape Canaveral Air Station’s Launch Complex 46. The launch, previously scheduled for Jan. 5, was postponed one day due to a problem with a range safety radar located at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla. Lunar Prospector, built for the NASA Ames Research Center by Lockheed Martin, is a spin-stabilized spacecraft designed to provide NASA with the first global maps of the Moon’s surface and its gravitational magnetic fields, as well as look for the possible presence of ice near the lunar poles. It will orbit the Moon at an altitude of approximately 63 miles during a one-year mission. The launch of Lunar Prospector is now scheduled for Jan. 6, 1998 at 9:28 p.m. EST

AS15-88-11863 (1 Aug. 1971) --- Astronaut David R. Scott, commander, gives a military salute while standing beside the deployed United States flag during the Apollo 15 lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Hadley-Apennine landing site. The flag was deployed toward the end of EVA-2. The Lunar Module (LM), "Falcon," is partially visible on the right. Hadley Delta in the background rises approximately 4,000 meters (about 13,124 feet) above the plain. The base of the mountain is approximately 5 kilometers (about three statue miles) away. This photograph was taken by astronaut James B. Irwin, lunar module pilot. While astronauts Scott and Irwin descended in the LM to explore the moon, astronaut Alfred M. Worden, command module pilot, remained in lunar orbit in the Command and Service Modules (CSM).

S69-60644 (29 Nov. 1969) --- A Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF), with the crew men of the Apollo 12 lunar landing mission aboard, arrived at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) Saturday morning, Nov. 29, 1969. Astronauts Charles Conrad Jr., Richard F. Gordon Jr., and Alan L. Bean were on their way to the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) where they will remain in quarantines until Dec. 10, 1969. Minutes earlier the three astronauts had arrived at Ellington Air Force Base from Hawaii aboard a U.S. Air Force C-141 transport. The crewmen were confined to the MQF from splashdown until they arrived at the LRL.

S69-41985 (14 Aug. 1969) --- The Apollo 11 spacecraft Command Module (CM) is loaded aboard a Super Guppy Aircraft at Ellington Air Force Base for shipment to the North American Rockwell Corporation at Downey, California. The CM was just released from its postflight quarantine at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). The Apollo 11 spacecraft was flown by astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, command module pilot; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot, during their lunar landing mission. Note damage to aft heat shield caused by extreme heat of Earth reentry. North American Rockwell is the prime contractor for the Apollo Command and Service Modules (CSM).

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and President of the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) Dr. Philippe Baptiste sign an agreement for the Farside Seismic Suite (FSS), Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022 at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. The FSS will return the first lunar seismic data from the far side of the Moon. CNES is contributing one of the seismometers to this payload, which will be delivered via NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payloads Services (CLPS) initiative, based on heritage capabilities from the Mars InSight mission. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)

S70-53479 (4 Nov. 1970) -- Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr., Apollo 14 commander, pulls the modular equipment transporter (MET) under weightless conditions aboard an Air Force KC-135 out of Patrick Air Force Base. Astronaut Edgar D. Mitchell, Apollo 14 lunar module pilot, is behind the MET. The KC-135 aircraft, flying a parabolic curve, creates a weightless environment providing a training exercise in preparation for the astronauts' extravehicular activities (EVA) on the lunar surface. This training simulates the 1/6 gravity the astronauts will encounter on the moon.

S69-40152 (27 July 1969) --- A Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF), with the three Apollo 11 crewmen inside, is unloaded from a United States Air Force C-141 transport at Ellington Air Force Base very early Sunday after a flight from Hawaii. A large crowd was present to welcome astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. back to Houston following their historic lunar landing mission. The crew remained in the MQF until they arrived at the Crew Reception Area of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). The crew will be released from quarantine on Aug. 11, 1969.

S69-40132 (27 July 1969) --- A Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF), with the three Apollo 11 crewmembers inside, is unloaded from a United States Air Force C-141 transport at Ellington Air Force Base very early Sunday after a flight from Hawaii. A large crowd was present to welcome astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. back to Houston following their historic lunar landing mission. The crew remained in the MQF until they arrived at the Crew Reception Area of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). The crew will be released from quarantine on Aug. 11, 1969.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and President of the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) Dr. Philippe Baptiste sign an agreement for the Farside Seismic Suite (FSS), Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022 at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. The FSS will return the first lunar seismic data from the far side of the Moon. CNES is contributing one of the seismometers to this payload, which will be delivered via NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payloads Services (CLPS) initiative, based on heritage capabilities from the Mars InSight mission. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Apollo 9 Astronauts James A. McDivitt, David R. Scott, and Russell L. Schweickart breakfast with guests in their crew quarters of few hours before their launch into Earth orbit to test the Lunar Module spacecraft. Left to right across the table are Brig. Gen. C.H. Bolender, Scott, Schweickart, and Alan Shepard, Chief of the Astronaut Office and America's first man in space. Foreground, second from left, is Kenneth Kleinknect astronaut McDivitt his clergyman from Nassau Bay, Texas, The Rev. Laurence Connelly and George Skurla, Grumman Aircraft base manager at the spaceport. Grumman builds the Lunar Module spacecraft. Photo credit: NASA

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and President of the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) Dr. Philippe Baptiste sign an agreement for the Farside Seismic Suite (FSS), Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022 at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. The FSS will return the first lunar seismic data from the far side of the Moon. CNES is contributing one of the seismometers to this payload, which will be delivered via NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payloads Services (CLPS) initiative, based on heritage capabilities from the Mars InSight mission. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)

jsc2011e118360 - Panorama view of Station 8 and (Mons) Mt. Hadley taken during the third moonwalk of the Apollo 15 mission. The panoramas were built by combining Apollo 15 images starting with frame AS15-82-11054 thru end frame AS15-82-11058. The panoramic images received minimal retouching by NASA imagery specialists, including the removal of lens flares that were problematic in stitching together the individual frames and blacking out the sky to the lunar horizon. These adjustments were made based on observations of the Moon walkers who reported that there are no stars visible in the sky due to the bright lunar surface reflection of the Sun.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Apollo 9 astronauts James A. McDivitt, David R. Scott, and Russell L. Schweickart breakfast today with mission officials in their crew quarters at the Kennedy Space Center a few hours prior to their scheduled launch into Earth orbit. Seated in the foreground, left to right, are astronauts Schweickart and Scott Brig. Gen. C. H. Bolendar, manager, Lunar Module and backup Lunar Module Pilot Alan L. Bean. Across the table, left to right, George Skurla, Grumman Aircraft Base Manager at the Spaceport McDivitt's clergyman from his home church at Nassau Bay, Texas, The Rev. Laurence Connelly McDivitt and Kenneth Kleinknecht, manager, Command and Service Modules at the Manned Spacecraft Center. Grumman builds the two-man lunar module spacecraft that will be tested during the planned 10-day space mission. Photo credit: NASA

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Tom Engler, deputy director of Center Planning and Development at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, speaks to members of the media during an event to announce the agency's Lunar Cargo Transportation and Landing by Soft Touchdown, or Lunar CATALYST, initiative and introduced one of the partners, Moon Express Inc. of Moffett Field, California. The event took place at Kennedy's automated landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, hazard field at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility. Moon Express is developing a lander with capabilities that will enable delivery of payloads to the surface of the moon, as well as new science and exploration missions of interest to NASA and scientific and academic communities. Moon Express will base its activities at Kennedy and utilize the Morpheus ALHAT field and a hangar nearby for CATALYST testing. The Advanced Exploration Systems Division of NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate manages Lunar CATALYST. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

Tom Engler, deputy director of Center Planning and Development at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, speaks to members of the media during an event to announce the agency's Lunar Cargo Transportation and Landing by Soft Touchdown, or Lunar CATALYST, initiative and introduced one of the partners, Moon Express Inc. of Moffett Field, California. The event took place at Kennedy's automated landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, hazard field at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility. Moon Express is developing a lander with capabilities that will enable delivery of payloads to the surface of the moon, as well as new science and exploration missions of interest to NASA and scientific and academic communities. Moon Express will base its activities at Kennedy and utilize the Morpheus ALHAT field and a hangar nearby for CATALYST testing. The Advanced Exploration Systems Division of NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate manages Lunar CATALYST.

Greg C. Shavers, Lander Technology director at Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, speaks to members of the media during an event to announce the agency's Lunar Cargo Transportation and Landing by Soft Touchdown, or Lunar CATALYST, initiative and introduced one of the partners, Moon Express Inc. of Moffett Field, California. The event took place at Kennedy's automated landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, hazard field at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility. Moon Express is developing a lander with capabilities that will enable delivery of payloads to the surface of the moon, as well as new science and exploration missions of interest to NASA and scientific and academic communities. Moon Express will base its activities at Kennedy and utilize the Morpheus ALHAT field and a hangar nearby for CATALYST testing. The Advanced Exploration Systems Division of NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate manages Lunar CATALYST.

Members of the media watch a demonstration of the Regolith Advanced Surface System Operations Robot, or RASSOR, during a media event at the automated landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, hazard field at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Tom Engler, center, in the suit, deputy director of Kennedy's Center Planning and Development, announced Moon Express Inc., of Moffett Field, California is selected to utilize Kennedy facilities for NASA's Lunar Cargo Transportation and Landing by Soft Touchdown, or Lunar CATALYST, initiative. Moon Express is developing a lander with capabilities that will enable delivery of payloads to the surface of the moon, as well as new science and exploration missions of interest to NASA and scientific and academic communities. Moon Express will base its activities at Kennedy and utilize the Morpheus ALHAT field and a hangar nearby for CATALYST testing. The Advanced Exploration Systems Division of NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate manages Lunar CATALYST.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Bob Richards, co-founder and chief executive officer of Moon Express Inc., of Moffett Field, California, speaks to the media during an event to announce the company's selection to use Kennedy Space Center's facilities as part of NASA's Lunar Cargo Transportation and Landing by Soft Touchdown, or Lunar CATALYST, initiative. The event took place at Kennedy's automated landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, hazard field at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility. Moon Express is developing a lander with capabilities that will enable delivery of payloads to the surface of the moon, as well as new science and exploration missions of interest to NASA and scientific and academic communities. Moon Express will base its activities at Kennedy and utilize the Morpheus ALHAT field and a hangar nearby for CATALYST testing. The Advanced Exploration Systems Division of NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate manages Lunar CATALYST. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

Bob Richards, co-founder and chief executive officer of Moon Express Inc., of Moffett Field, California, speaks to the media during an event to announce the company's selection to use Kennedy Space Center's facilities as part of NASA's Lunar Cargo Transportation and Landing by Soft Touchdown, or Lunar CATALYST, initiative. The event took place at Kennedy's automated landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, hazard field at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility. Moon Express is developing a lander with capabilities that will enable delivery of payloads to the surface of the moon, as well as new science and exploration missions of interest to NASA and scientific and academic communities. Moon Express will base its activities at Kennedy and utilize the Morpheus ALHAT field and a hangar nearby for CATALYST testing. The Advanced Exploration Systems Division of NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate manages Lunar CATALYST.

Rob Mueller, NASA senior technologist in the Surface Systems Office in Kennedy Space Center's Engineering and Technology Directorate, demonstrates the Regolith Advanced Surface System Operations Robot, or RASSOR, during a media event at Kennedy's automated landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, hazard field at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility. The event was held to announce Moon Express Inc., of Moffett Field, California is selected to utilize Kennedy facilities for NASA's Lunar Cargo Transportation and Landing by Soft Touchdown, or Lunar CATALYST, initiative. Moon Express is developing a lander with capabilities that will enable delivery of payloads to the surface of the moon, as well as new science and exploration missions of interest to NASA and scientific and academic communities. Moon Express will base its activities at Kennedy and utilize the Morpheus ALHAT field and a hangar nearby for CATALYST testing. The Advanced Exploration Systems Division of NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate manages Lunar CATALYST.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Greg C. Shavers, Lander Technology director at Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, speaks to members of the media during an event to announce the agency's Lunar Cargo Transportation and Landing by Soft Touchdown, or Lunar CATALYST, initiative and introduced one of the partners, Moon Express Inc. of Moffett Field, California. The event took place at Kennedy's automated landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, hazard field at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility. Moon Express is developing a lander with capabilities that will enable delivery of payloads to the surface of the moon, as well as new science and exploration missions of interest to NASA and scientific and academic communities. Moon Express will base its activities at Kennedy and utilize the Morpheus ALHAT field and a hangar nearby for CATALYST testing. The Advanced Exploration Systems Division of NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate manages Lunar CATALYST. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

This animated artist's concept depicts three small rovers – part of NASA's CADRE (Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration) technology demonstration headed for the Moon – driving together on the lunar surface. Motiv Space Systems in Pasadena, California, created the rendering and collaborated with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on critical rover and mobility functions. Slated to arrive aboard a lunar lander at the Reiner Gamma region of the Moon under NASA's CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative, CADRE is designed to demonstrate that multiple robots can cooperate and explore together autonomously – without direct input from human mission controllers. A trio of the miniature solar-powered rovers, each about the size of a carry-on suitcase, will explore the Moon as a team, communicating via radio with each other and a base station aboard the lander. By taking simultaneous measurements from multiple locations, CADRE will also demonstrate how multirobot missions can record data impossible for a single robot to achieve – a tantalizing prospect for future missions. Motiv contributed subsystems and hardware elements for three of four CADRE systems, including designing and building the mobility system and rover chassis, the base station, the rover deployers, and the motor controller boards. The company also procured and tested the actuators with the flight motor controller boards. Animation available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26296

jsc2012e052599 - Panorama view of Apollo 16 lunar surface photos as lunar module pilot Charles M. Duke Jr. is photographed by commander John W. Young collecting lunar samples at Station No. 1 during the first moonwalk of the mission at the Descartes landing site. The panoramas were built by combining Apollo 16 images starting with frame AS16-114-18416 thru end frame AS16-114-18431. The panoramic images received minimal retouching by NASA imagery specialists, including the removal of lens flares that were problematic in stitching together the individual frames and blacking out the sky to the lunar horizon. These adjustments were made based on observations of the Moon walkers who reported that there are no stars visible in the sky due to the bright lunar surface reflection of the Sun. With significant overlap and time delay between frames, it is possible to create two different versions of this panorama with astronaut Charles Duke (Apollo 16) in the center (jsc2012e052598) and both in the center and walking away to the right (jsc2012e052599).

jsc2012e052598 - Panorama view of Apollo 16 lunar surface photos as lunar module pilot Charles M. Duke Jr. is photographed by commander John W. Young collecting lunar samples at Station No. 1 during the first moonwalk of the mission at the Descartes landing site. The panoramas were built by combining Apollo 16 images starting with frame AS16-114-18416 thru end frame AS16-114-18431. The panoramic images received minimal retouching by NASA imagery specialists, including the removal of lens flares that were problematic in stitching together the individual frames and blacking out the sky to the lunar horizon. These adjustments were made based on observations of the Moon walkers who reported that there are no stars visible in the sky due to the bright lunar surface reflection of the Sun. With significant overlap and time delay between frames, it is possible to create two different versions of this panorama with astronaut Charles Duke (Apollo 16) in the center (jsc2012e052598) and both in the center and walking away to the right (jsc2012e052599).

S70-15511 (19 April 1970) --- President Richard M. Nixon speaks at Hickham Air Force Base prior to presenting the nation's highest civilian award to the Apollo 13 crew. Receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom were astronauts James A. Lovell Jr., (next to the Chief Executive), commander; John L. Swigert Jr. (left), command module pilot; and Fred W. Haise Jr., lunar module pilot. Wives of Lovell and Haise and the parents of Swigert accompanied the President to Hawaii. The Apollo 13 splashdown occurred at 12:07:44 p.m. (CST), April 17, 1970, about a day and a half prior to the Hickam Air Force Base ceremonies.

S70-15506 (18 April 1970) --- President Richard M. Nixon and astronaut James A. Lovell Jr., Apollo 13 commander, shake hands at special ceremonies at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. President Nixon was in Hawaii to present the Apollo 13 crew with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. The wives of astronauts Lovell and Fred W. Haise Jr., lunar module pilot; and the parents of astronaut John L. Swigert Jr., command module pilot, flew with the Chief Executive to Hickam Air Force Base. The Apollo 13 splashdown occurred at 12:07:44 p.m. (CST), April 17, 1970, a day and a half prior to the awards ceremony.

This is the official NASA portrait of astronaut Edwin E. (Buzz) Aldrin. Prior to joining NASA, Aldrin flew 66 combat missions in F-86s while on duty in Korea. At Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, he served as an aerial gunnery instructor. Following his assignment as aide to the dean of faculty at the Air Force Academy, Aldrin flew F-100s as a flight commander at Bitburg, Germany. Aldrin was one of the third group of astronauts named by NASA in October 1963 and has logged 289 hours and 53 minutes in space, of which, 7 hours and 52 minutes were spent in Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA). On November 11, 1966, he launched into space aboard the Gemini 12 spacecraft on a 4-day flight, which brought the Gemini program to a successful close. During that mission, Aldrin established a new record for EVA, spending 5-1/2 hours outside the spacecraft. July 16-24, 1969, Aldrin served as lunar module pilot for Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing mission. Aldrin followed Neil Armstrong onto the lunar surface on July 20, 1969, completing a 2-hour and 15 minute lunar EVA. Aldrin resigned from NASA in July 1971.

Dr. Wernher von Braun, director of the NASA Marshall Space Flight center (MSFC), appears proud as he pauses in front of the mobile launcher and base of the Saturn V rocket (AS-506) being readied for the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing mission at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The Saturn V vehicle was developed by MSFC under the direction of Dr. von Braun. The Apollo 11 mission launched from KSC in Florida via the MSFC developed Saturn V launch vehicle on July 16, 1969 and safely returned to Earth on July 24, 1969. Aboard the space craft were astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, Command Module (CM) pilot; and Edwin E. (Buzz) Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module (LM) pilot. The CM, “Columbia”, piloted by Collins, remained in a parking orbit around the Moon while the LM, “Eagle’’, carrying astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin, landed on the Moon. On July 20, 1969, Armstrong was the first human to ever stand on the lunar surface, followed by Aldrin. During 2½ hours of surface exploration, the crew collected 47 pounds of lunar surface material for analysis back on Earth. With the success of Apollo 11, the national objective to land men on the Moon and return them safely to Earth had been accomplished.

Dr. Wernher von Braun, director of the NASA Marshall Space Flight center (MSFC), talks with news reporters while paused in front of the mobile launcher and base of the Saturn V rocket (AS-506) being readied for the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing mission at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The Saturn V vehicle was developed by MSFC under the direction of Dr. von Braun. The Apollo 11 mission launched from the KSC in Florida via the MSFC developed Saturn V launch vehicle on July 16, 1969 and safely returned to Earth on July 24, 1969. Aboard the space craft were astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, Command Module (CM) pilot; and Edwin E. (Buzz) Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module (LM) pilot. The CM, “Columbia”, piloted by Collins, remained in a parking orbit around the Moon while the LM, “Eagle’’, carrying astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin, landed on the Moon. On July 20, 1969, Armstrong was the first human to ever stand on the lunar surface, followed by Aldrin. During 2½ hours of surface exploration, the crew collected 47 pounds of lunar surface material for analysis back on Earth. With the success of Apollo 11, the national objective to land men on the Moon and return them safely to Earth had been accomplished.

In preparation of the nation’s first lunar landing mission, Apollo 11 crew members underwent training to practice activities they would be performing during the mission. In this photograph, astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin, donned in his space suit, gets in more time under weightless conditions aboard a KC-135 aircraft from the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The Apollo 11 mission launched from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida via the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) developed Saturn V launch vehicle on July 16, 1969 and safely returned to Earth on July 24, 1969. Aboard the space craft were astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, Command Module (CM) pilot; and Edwin E. (Buzz) Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module (LM) pilot. The CM, “Columbia”, piloted by Collins, remained in a parking orbit around the Moon while the LM, “Eagle’’, carrying astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin, landed on the Moon. On July 20, 1969, Armstrong was the first human to ever stand on the lunar surface, followed by Aldrin. During 2½ hours of surface exploration, the crew collected 47 pounds of lunar surface material for analysis back on Earth. With the success of Apollo 11, the national objective to land men on the Moon and return them safely to Earth had been accomplished.

The Apollo 11 mission, the first manned lunar mission, launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida via the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) developed Saturn V launch vehicle on July 16, 1969 and safely returned to Earth on July 24, 1969. Aboard the space craft were astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, Command Module (CM) pilot; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module (LM) pilot. The CM, piloted by Michael Collins remained in a parking orbit around the Moon while the LM, named “Eagle’’, carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, landed on the Moon. During 2½ hours of surface exploration, the crew collected 47 pounds of lunar surface material for analysis back on Earth. The recovery operation took place in the Pacific Ocean where Navy para-rescue men recovered the capsule housing the 3-man Apollo 11 crew. The crew was airlifted to safety aboard the U.S.S. Hornet, where they were quartered in a Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) which served as their home until they reached the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) Lunar Receiving Laboratory in Houston, Texas. In this photo taken at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the inhabited MQF is prepared for loading into an Air Force C-141 jet transport for the flight back to Ellington Air Force Base Texas and then on to the MSC.

Apollo Astronaut Fred Haise speaks to a crowd of NASA and U.S Air Force employees at the Edwards Air Force Base theater about his career with NASA and as a military pilot. Haise stands on stage with a photo of former astronauts Jim Lovell and Jack Swigert who accompanied him on the Apollo 13 lunar mission in the background with a model of the Saturn V rocket.

S69-16402 (29 Dec. 1968) --- Although it was past 2 a.m., a crew of more than 2,000 people were on hand at Ellington Air Force Base to welcome the members of the Apollo 8 crew back home. Astronauts Frank Borman, James A. Lovell Jr., and William A. Anders had just flown to Houston from the pacific recovery area by way of Hawaii. The three crewmen of the historic Apollo 8 lunar orbit mission are standing at the microphones in center of picture. Photo credit: NASA

In this 1971 artist's concept, the Nuclear Shuttle is shown in various space-based applications. As envisioned by Marshall Space Flight Center Program Development persornel, the Nuclear Shuttle would deliver payloads to geosychronous Earth orbits or lunar orbits then return to low Earth orbit for refueling. A cluster of Nuclear Shuttle units could form the basis for planetary missions.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Apollo 12 astronauts, left to right, Charles Conrad Jr., Richard F. Gordon, and Alan L. Bean, pose in front of a NASA T-38 training aircraft at Patrick Air Force Base. Eacht astronaut piloted his own T-38, performing aerobatics in preparation for their mission, the second manned lunar landing.

Overall wide-angle view of the MOCR in the Mission Control Center (MCC) during the touchdown of the Apollo XV LM at the Hadley-Apennine Moon site. MSC, Houston, TX

A mass-offloaded version of Astrobotic’s CubeRover – a lightweight, modular planetary rover – is used to simulate mobility in low lunar gravity inside the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations (GMRO) Laboratory’s regolith pit at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Swamp Works facility on June 30, 2022. Astrobotic – a Pittsburgh-based space robotics company – is using the GMRO lab’s regolith bin, which holds approximately 120 tons of lunar regolith simulant, to depict how the company’s CubeRover would perform on the Moon. NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program provided the funding for initial development, and a $2 million Tipping Point award from the agency has provided additional funding for continued development into a more mature rover.

S69-40147 (27 July 1969) --- The Apollo 11 crewmen, still under a 21-day quarantine, are greeted by their wives. They arrived at Ellington Air Force Base very early Sunday after a flight aboard a U.S. Air Force C-141 transport from Hawaii. Looking through the window of a Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) are (left to right) astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., and Michael Collins. The wives are (left to right) Mrs. Pat Collins, Mrs. Jan Armstrong, and Mrs. Joan Aldrin. The crew of the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing mission remained in the MQF until they arrived to the Crew Reception Area of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). The astronauts will be released from quarantine on Aug. 11, 1969.