Apollo 11 40th Anniversary Begins
40 years ago, today, the Saturn V rocket carrying Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins was launched. This event marked the beginning of mankind’s greatest journey and would see John F Kennedy’s pledge completed and a man landed on the Moon and returned safely to Earth.
At 9.32 (local time) on the morning of 16th July 1969, the huge Saturn V rocket lifted clear of the launch pad and Apollo 11 was safely on its way. In twelve minutes the third stage of the rocket, with the Apollo spacecraft attached, was in orbit around the Earth. After one and a half orbits, the third stage rockets fired and Apollo 11 was on its way to the Moon.
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Thank you to NASA for the images.
Phoenix explores the Martian Arctic
Just before 1am this morning (BST), NASA’s Phoenix lander successfully landed in the Arctic region of Mars. High on the list of exploration targets for Phoenix is the search for frozen water.
The photograph shows Phoenix parachuting down to its landing site and was taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter which was overhead at the time.
