Apollo Moon Landing 50th Anniversary

Jul 30

On July 20, 1969 at 10:56pm EST, Neil Armstrong’s “footprint” on the moon was made… and exactly 50 years later, to the minute, hundreds of thousands of people (almost half a million in total over the whole weekend) sat on the Washington Mall to experience it in a whole new way.

Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum wanted to go big, so big in fact, that they not only beamed a full-scale, 363-foot Saturn V rocket directly onto the monument, but a tribute video on it as well (click here to learn more).

So how did they do it?

They used a technology called “projection mapping”, which combines video projection with augmented reality, turning irregularly-shaped objects into whatever is being projected. This creates the illusion that the object and the projection are one (which in some images, looked like steam was coming from the actual monument and not part of the moving image). Interestingly, the first known use of this technology was Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion ride in 1969.

The Experience

There were two options for how to watch the show, which was a bit of a shame. Those that chose to stay closer to the Smithsonian Castle had a further view of the monument, but experienced the large LED screens with a full video display, a 40 ft. replica of the Kennedy Space Center countdown clock, and an immersive sound system. And for those that wanted a closer look (like me), you were able to witness only the projected images and videos in what felt like a silent film. I am not in the least bit disappointed about choosing the latter.

For 17 minutes, we witnessed the entire journey of the rocket and its crew, as they made their way to the moon and back, completely in awe of the fact that not only could we relive something that was before some of our times, but also experience the monument in a whole new way.

When 10:56pm EST was upon us and Armstrong’s first moon boot imprint was left, the 125,000 in attendance erupted in cheers, finally unifying us all in something that truly embodies what we are all capable of - anything.