Apollo 50th Anniversary

Last week was a big week in space exploration, with the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, and some significant sales of space memorabilia, including US$746,000 for an Apollo Guidance Computer (the brain behind the Lunar landing).

On November 14, 1969, the second manned mission to land on the Moon lifted off from Cape Kennedy. Four months after the historic Apollo 11 landing, it was the first true manned exploration mission to the lunar surface. But why return to the Moon?

There's a galaxy of products commemorating Apollo 11's 50th anniversary, from coins to cushions, tumblers to tote-bags. But for those who really want to wear their astro-hearts on their sleeve (or wrist), the Trappist-1 NASA edition might just send them over the moon.

Fifty years ago, two men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the surface of the Moon. That's a very simple sentence to write, but getting to grips with what is almost certainly one of the most momentous events in the whole of human history is far less easy. So what was Apollo 11?

Almost 50 years to the day since Neil Armstrong uttered the words "the Eagle has landed" Lego will launch its Eagle Lunar Module set to celebrate the anniversary. Developed in cooperation with NASA, the set will be available from June 1 at a price of just under US$100.

Fifty years ago and a quarter of a million miles away, three astronauts carried out the dress rehearsal for one of the greatest events in human history. On May 18, 1969, Apollo 10 lifted off. Its mission: to return to the Moon and pave the way for the Apollo 11 lunar landing two months later.

Today, we take it for granted that the Apollo lunar landing was possible, but at the time, no one had done anything remotely like it – let alone in a craft that had never been fully tested.

In the first week of March 1969, NASA's Apollo 9 mission saw the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) getting its first full orbital workout as the US sprinted the last lap of the race to be the first on the Moon.​

On December 21, 1968, a space mission lifted off that would change our world forever. Born in the depths of the Cold War and launched at a time of national turmoil, Apollo 8 was more than a great scientific and engineering feat. As you might expect, the story of is a fascinating one.

On October 11, 1968, America returned to space with its most ambitious manned mission to date. Born in the aftermath of a fiery tragedy, Apollo 7, this first flight not only made possible Neil Armstrong's one small step, it also made history by being the stage for the first mutiny in space.