The Apollo 11 mission is celebrated in a 17-minute show, “Apollo 50: Go for the Moon” featuring full-motion projection-mapping artwork on the Washington Monument and archival footage to recreate the launch of Apollo 11 and tell the story of the first moon landing
Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

July 8, 2025

This year celebrates the 56^th anniversary of the first moon landing. On July 20, the world watched as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped onto the surface of the moon. Their images were captured by an antenna dish in Australia made by Pittsburgh’s Blaw-Knox company. The Parkes Dish near Canberra, Australia, was in line to transmit history. Due to high winds, the dish could not dip low to the horizon to have the moon in sight. Nearby, Honeysuckle Creek tracking station successfully broadcast the first eight minutes and 50 seconds of the moon landing. Parkes completed the transmission.

Lunar “selfies” were imaged with Pittsburgh ingenuity. NASA debated adding camera weight to the spacecraft, but Westinghouse produced a seven-pound, black-and-white 16mm lens camera that functioned in harsh temperatures and low light.

Pittsburgh’s Elayne Arrington soared as a Hidden Figure of the Space Program. Arrington grew up in West Mifflin. A mathematical prodigy, she became the first African American Woman to earn a bachelor’s degree from the School of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. In 1961, she began her career as the first woman aerospace engineer at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. As another Hidden Figure, Katherine Johnson, tracked the Apollo flight trajectories, Arrington used her skills to track Soviet rockets. By analyzing reconnaissance data, she kept Apollo competitive in the race to the moon.

Are you as fascinated by the night sky as we are?

Join us for SkyWatch: Carnegie Science Center’s monthly opportunity to catch a glimpse of the stars with professional telescopes. Get a great view of the Pittsburgh skyline as you stargaze with other space enthusiasts. Plus, watch a feature show at the Buhl Planetarium and participate in fun, astronomy-themed activities.