The Saturn V carrying Apollo 11. 16 July 1969. Album/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: apaphotos339694
First, earlier this week, we got the otherworldly footage from James Cameron’s dive to the bottom of the ocean. Not to be upstaged, another famous rich guy, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, announced that he too had been exploring the bottom of the ocean and had found the rocket engines belonging to Apollo 11 and the first mission that put men on the moon.
Both are historic events and we don’t want to take away from the significance of either, but it begs the question: what is it with rich guys and the bottom of the ocean this week?
July 20, 1969 is one of those rare days where just about everyone can tell you where they were and what they were doing. Millions watched as Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on moon and the crew of Apollo 11 (along with Armstrong it included Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins).
Only four days earlier, on July 16, two rocket engines powered the spacecraft into orbit and on its journey outside earth’s atmosphere. The engines, after powering the craft up and off, fell into the Atlantic Ocean. According to a post on his blog earlier today, Bezos was five years old when he watched Apollo 11 take off, and the moment was one that has inspired his whole life. According to the post, Bezos decided a year ago to see if he could find the rocket engines. More than 40 years after they crashed into the water, Bezos’ team found them using deep-sea sonar and he’s decided he’s going to try to bring them up.
“We don’t know yet what condition these engines might be in – they hit the ocean at high velocity and have been in salt water for more than 40 years,” he cautions in the post. “On the other hand, they’re made of tough stuff, so we’ll see.”
For now, Bezos says he hopes the expedition to raise these engines will continue to inspire little five year old boys like himself to continue to “invent and explore.” We hope so too, Jeff.
FILE: 16 July 1979 - The American flag heralds the flight of Apollo 11, the first Lunar landing mission. The Apollo 11 Saturn V space vehicle lifted off with astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., at 9:32 a.m. EDT July 16, 1969, from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A. During the planned eight-day mission, Armstrong and Aldrin will descend in a lunar module to the Moon's surface while Collins orbits overhead in the Command Module. The two astronauts are to spend 22 hours on the Moon, including two and one-half hours outside the lunar module. They will gather samples of lunar material and will deploy scientific experiments which will transmit data about the lunar environment. They will rejoin Collins in the Command Module for the return trip to Earth. SIPA USA/SIPA/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: sipaphotostwo861794
Apollo 11 Saturn V space vehicle launches from Kennedy Space Center on its way to the Moon in this NASA supplied photograph, on July 16, 1969. The projectile contained astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin (Buzz) E. Aldrin Jr. NASA/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: lrphotos067247
APOLLO 11 RISES PAST THE LAUNCH TOWER AT PAD 39A TO BEGIN MANS FIRST LUNAR LANDING MISSION. LIFTOFF OCCURED AT 9:32 AM EDT. APOLLO 11 CREWMEN WERE NEIL ARMSTRONG MICHAEL COLLINS AND EDWIN ALDRIN JR. TOUCHDOWN ON THE SURFACE OF THE MOON WAS ACCOMPLISHED BY ASTRONAUTS ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN. APOLLO 11 LAUNCH TOWER JULY 16 1969 UNITED STATES. Educational Images LTD / Custom Medical Stock Photo /Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: cmsphoto058275
Visitors to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum look at the Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia in Washington DC, USA, 20 July 2009. MICHAEL REYNOLDS/EPA/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: epaphotosthree881708
Buzz Aldrin, the pilot of the first lunar landing mission during an Apollo 11 Extravehicular Activity on the Moon in this NASA supplied photograph, on July 20, 1969. Taken by fellow Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong. NASA/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: lrphotos067249
Buzz Aldrin, the pilot of the first lunar landing mission, leaves his bootprint during an Apollo 11 Extravehicular Activity on the Moon in this NASA supplied photograph, on July 20, 1969. NASA/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: lrphotos067251
Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong during an Apollo 11 extravehicular activity on the moon. NASA/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: lrphotos067250
Jul 24, 1969 - Houston, Texas, U.S. - Mission Control celebrates after conclusion of the Apollo 11 lunar landing. Overall view of the Mission Operations Control Room in the Mission Control Center, Building 30, Manned Spacecraft Center, showing the flight controllers celebrating the successful conclusion of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission. ZUMA Press/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: zumawireworldphotosfour223634
You may be interested in some of these other out-of-this-world blog posts from FocalPoint:
Pictures of the Week: Earth from Space
Supermassive Black Holes Make for Out-of-this-World Cool Photos
Pictures of the Sun: Earth Perihelion Day
Alien Conspiracy Theories Are Awesome!
Tags: apollo 11, buzz aldrin, f-1, jeff bezos, moon, neil armstrong, rocket engine
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