Race to the Moon! – The Spectacular Kennedy Space Center
Mission Zone: Race to the Moon
In May of 1961, President John. F. Kennedy made an announcement that must have sounded ludicrous. Today, those words are legendary.
I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space project. . .will be more exciting, or more impressive to mankind, or more important. . .and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish. . .1
President John F. Kennedy
Land a man on the moon? Was President Kennedy out of his mind?
The longest an American had been in space was fifteen minutes, and now he wanted someone on the moon. Though it may have seemed far-fetched to the average listener, NASA leaders had been interviewed, and they believed, if they pushed themselves, they could have a man on the moon before the decade was out. That was all President Kennedy needed to hear.
After all, this was the height of the Cold War, a life-and-death race with America’s arch rival and global superpower, the Soviet Union. The Soviets had already pulled ahead in the “space race,” with Sputnik and cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becoming the first human in space. It was vital for the United States to pull ahead.2 A successful moon landing would put the Soviet Union in her place and make the Soviets think twice before starting trouble. A failure would give the Soviets the edge in a race toward mutually assured destruction.
The race to the moon was not only a race to discovery, but it was also a race against all-out war.
Launch in T minus 10, 9, 8. . .
At Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex’s Mission Zone: Race to the Moon, you’ll find yourself transported back to the 1960s, alongside NASA engineers and astronauts constructing rockets, launching into space, and finally, taking mans first steps onto the moon.
You first find yourself in the control room confronted by denizens of buttons, screens, and headsets–these are the actual consoles from the launch. The room darkens, and a narrator booms: “It is one of those rare moments when history is not being made, destiny is being embraced!”3
More voices emerge from the darkness, some static-filled and garbled, and some of which have passed from memory into history. They are the ghosts of the Kennedy Space Center control room, overseeing the launch to the moon once again (and once again doing a America proud) – their spots in the control room light up at the sound of their voices.
As the seconds to the launch tick down, large monitors above the control room are alive with footage of the rocket. Attached to the rocket is Apollo 8, ready to orbit the moon. You find yourself gripping the edge of your seat.
You know what happens – of course, you do! And yet, knowing it is one thing; living through it is quite another. And so, you hold your breath as if it’s 1968 and happening for the first time. The ignition of the engines reverberates throughout the room, rattling your bones; the light of the fire of discovery burns bright before your eyes – the monitors are filled with nothing but rocket fire.
Saturn V
When the launch is complete, it’s time to meet the rocket at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, whose blast off has thrilled you to the core: Saturn V.
A total of 13 Saturn V rockets were used between 1967 and 1972, and the one which hangs above you in the Kennedy Space Center is one of only 3 left in the United States.4 The launch video was impressive, but it couldn’t prepare you for the enormity of the real thing. At 363 feet long, Saturn V is taller than the Statue of Liberty and giving Lady Liberty a run for her money in patriotism, as well! If Saturn V were full of fuel, it would weigh as much as 400 elephants.5
It’s mind-bending to think that something so heavy was responsible for making humans lighter than air, lifting them beyond the gravitational pull of home. And yet, Saturn V proved its worth time and again, launching Apollo 8 through Apollo 13, as well as the Skylab space station. Saturn V made it possible to not only reach and orbit the moon but eventually land on the lunar surface. As you stare up at the magnificent machine at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, you know you are looking at a pioneer of the galaxies. It’s hard to leave, but you’re in a space race – no time to dawdle!
The Many Apollos
Although Apollo 11 of moon landing fame is usually the star of the show (no space pun intended), it would never have gotten off the ground without its predecessors, and its successors have accomplished marvelous things as well! Kennedy Space Center’s Mission Zone: Race to the Moon makes sure no Apollo is overlooked. You get to meet the entire family via breathtaking artifacts.
Some are more earthbound, like the van that transported astronauts to the launchpad or the collection of front-page headlines announcing the moon landing. Others are quite alien, like the moon rover or the Apollo 14 crew capsule. You can even take a peek inside command module CMS-119 and see the cramped space where astronauts lived, worked, and slept for the duration of their mission. Be sure to take an extra close look at the spacesuits – especially Alan Shepard’s. It’s still covered in moon dust!
Not only do you get to relive the landing of Apollo 11 through the magic of the Lunar Theater show at Kennedy Space Center, but you also get to experience the moonwalk! You can step right up to the replica moonscape and wave hello to Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong, who are busy planting the American flag in thick, grey moon dust. Next to them is the shining and authentic Lunar Module 9 (LM-9) that provided a safe haven for humans on the moon and lifted them off the surface when it was time to go home.
Not satisfied with looking at the moon? You’re in luck – Apollo 17 was kind enough to bring back a moon rock for the public to handle. Touch it at your own risk, though: NASA is currently researching whether it’s possible to be allergic to lunar dust!6 (Allergies or not, touching a moon rock alone is reason enough to embark on Mission Zone: Race to the Moon if you ask me!)
Of course, in honoring all Apollo missions, it is only fitting that there be a unique display dedicated to Apollo 1. It is aptly named “Ad Astra per Aspera” – a rough road leads to the stars. The collection contains mementos from the astronauts of the first Apollo. Tragically, it’s not just a memorial to being the first; it is also a memorial to the crew who lost their lives in 1967. A fire swept through the command module while Apollo 1 was still on the launchpad. However, like the rest of Kennedy Space Center’s Mission Zone: Race to the Moon testifies, Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee did not die in vain.
Even though you’ve met all the Apollos, your tour is not quite over. As you walk outside, you find yourself in the Moon Tree Garden. The twelve trees represent the twelve crewed Apollo missions, but there’s something else rather spectacular about the greenery. These trees are descendants of the original “moon trees” grown from seeds that were taken to the moon during the Apollo 14 mission.7
A bronze statue of the Apollo 11 astronauts stands in the center of the trees; Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins look to the distance – to the stars. It’s a scene from the moon in the middle of a most earthly setting, a garden. The intermingling of space and earth creates a strange yet wonderful feeling you won’t soon shake.
President Kennedy’s words mean so much more now that you’ve run the race and finished the course. The idea wasn’t ludicrous, but it was more labor-intensive than you had ever imagined. The footage of a rocket lifting from the launch pad appears effortless, easy. But now you’ve been there, back to 1967, and ’68, and ’69. Now you know how much sacrifice, work, and genius went into those moments. And now you also know how those moments changed our understanding of space and our own planet and how they provided the ultimate triumph when America needed it most.
Have you been to Kennedy Space Center’s Mission Zone: Race to the Moon? Tell us what you thought of the experience – and if you were allergic to the moon rock! Perhaps you even remember the moon landing first-hand? We’d love to hear about it in the comments below!
Signing off for now, but stay tuned for Blast Off! – Part 4, the conclusion to our Kennedy Space Center series!
(In case you missed them, click these links to check out Part 1 and Part 2!)
Cover Image
Photo: Unsplash
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