As part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the Apollo 11 mission, the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. has been projecting the 363-foot Saturn V rocket on the east face of the Washington Monument all week. Last night, the celebrations climaxed with a 17-minute multi-media show - "Apollo 50: Go for the Moon," which combined full-motion projection mapping artwork and archival footage to recreate the launch of Apollo 11 and tell the story of the first Moon landing.
The scene looks beautiful as seen in the picture below from NASA.
Here is the video of the spectacular event —
The shows will repeat tonight from 9:30 to 11:30 p.m. It will be hot and humid, so prepare well if you plan to go down there.
Here are some more images and video captured by enthusiasts. Take a look and escape for few moments from the darkness that surrounds the White House just steps way from the monument. For readers who made the trip to the National Mall in the heat and humidity yesterday, please feel free to post your photographs and memories of the evening.
Here is a video from Tuesday -
There are daytime activities and exhibitions at the Mall today as well.
Oohs and aahs 50 years ago ...
The Apollo-50th twitter site is doing a minute-by-minute re-creation of the Apollo 11 mission. As of this time (50 years ago), they are getting ready for the descent of the Lunar Module. Touchdown will occur at 4:17 p.m. EDT.
Here is the 8-day itinerary of the round-trip travel to the moon -
This is the scene on the ground on July 16, 1969 -
The Apollo 11 50th anniversary is a reminder of what America can do when bright men and women, Science and a forward looking government and President put their hearts and minds together. Let’s stay inspired, in spite of the darkness that permeates the WH and the twitterverse these days.