A lunar lander containing digitised recordings of songs from Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Timbaland and more touched down on the moon last week.
The historic landing of the Odysseus spacecraft marked the first time a private lander successfully landed on the moon, as well as the first American craft to touch down since 1972.
The lander brought a time capsule to the moon containing various arts-centric artefacts. It also contains a documentary, namely Michael P. Nash’s acclaimed 2010 documentary Climate Refugees.
“In case we blow ourselves up with a nuclear weapon or a meteor hits us or climatic change wipes us out, there’s a testament of our history sitting on the moon,” he said [via Billboard].
The time capsule spans millennia, even containing a Sumerian cuneiform fragment of musical notation. Other artists whose music appears in the collection include Marvin Gaye, Santana, Chuck Berry, Sly & the Family Stone, Bob Marley, Janis Joplin and The Who and many more. It also has photos of music events like Woodstock and album art, such as Pink Floyd‘s ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’. It came in a glass, nickel and NanoFiche structure built to last millions of, if not a billion, years.
Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that landed the first two humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin, both American, landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC. Armstrong became the first person to step onto the lunar surface six hours later on July 21 at 02:56:15 UTC;
Apollo 11 astronauts in their spacesuits in front of an image of the moon
Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Mike Collins and Buzz Aldrin flew on the Apollo 11 mission. Image Credit: NASA
It was 1961. John F. Kennedy was the president of the United States. He wanted to land humans on the moon. The United States had just started trying to put people in space. Was NASA ready to go to the moon? The president and NASA knew they could do it. They were ready to put people on the moon. Apollo 11's mission was to land two men on the moon. They also had to come back to Earth safely.
Below some of the best songs about the moon.
TITLE | ARTIST | PEAK | YEAR |
SPACE ODDITY | DAVID BOWIE | 5 | 1969 |
ROCKET MAN | ELTON JOHN | 2 | 1972 |
STARMAN | DAVID BOWIE | 10 | 1972 |
STAR WARS THEME | MECCO | 7 | 1977 |
WALKING ON THE MOON | POLICE | 1 | 1979 |
A SPACEMAN CAME TRAVELLING | CHRIS DE BURGH | 40 | 1986 |
ROCKET MAN | KATE BUSH | 12 | 1991 |
THE WHOLE OF THE MOON | WATERBOYS | 3 | 1991 |
MAN ON THE MOON | REM | 18 | 1992 |
OUT OF SPACE | PRODIGY | 5 | 1996 |
SPACEMAN | BABYLON ZOO | 1 | 1996 |
HALLO SPACEBOY | DAVID BOWIE | 12 | 1996 |
LOST IN SPACE | LIGHTHOUSE FAMILY | 7 | 1998 |
LOST IN SPACE | APOLLO 440 | 4 | 1998 |
TO THE MOON AND BACK | SAVAGE GARDEN | 3 | 1998 |
DISCO BABES FROM OUTER SPACE | BABE INSTINCT | 21 | 1999 |
WE ARE ALL MADE OF STARS | MOBY | 11 | 2002 |
SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE | MUSE | 4 | 2006 |
SPACEMAN | KILLERS | 40 | 2008 |
SPACESHIP | TINCHY STRYDER & DAPPY | 5 | 2011 |
Apollo 11 blasted off on July 16, 1969. Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins were the astronauts on Apollo 11.
Four days later, Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon. They landed on the moon in the Lunar Module. It was called the Eagle. Collins stayed in orbit around the moon. He did experiments and took pictures.
At 1:54 p.m., having spent a total of 21.5 hours on the moon, the lunar module blasted back to where Collins waited in the Columbia. The two vehicles docked, and the crew and samples transferred to the Columbia before the Eagle was jettisoned into space. The astronauts then headed back home.