40th anniversary events
Who were the astronauts who won the Congressional Gold Medal?
Apollo 11
On July 15, 2009, Life.com released a photo gallery of previously unpublished photos of the astronauts taken by "Life" photographer Ralph Morse prior to the Apollo 11 launch. From July 16–24, 2009, NASA streamed the original mission audio on its website in real time 40 years to the minute after the events occurred. In addition, it is in the process of restoring the video footage and has released a preview of key moments. On July 20, 2009, the crew of Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins met with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House. "We expect that there is, as we speak, another generation of kids out there who are looking up at the sky and are going to be the next Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin," Obama said. "We want to make sure that NASA is going to be there for them when they want to take their journey. "The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum set up a Flash website that rebroadcasts the transmissions of Apollo 11 from launch to landing on the Moon. A group of British scientists interviewed as part of the anniversary events reflected on the significance of the Moon landing:It was carried out in a technically brilliant way with risks taken ... that would be inconceivable in the risk-averse world of today ... The Apollo programme is arguably the greatest technical achievement of mankind to date ... nothing since Apollo has come close the excitement that was generated by those astronauts - Armstrong, Aldrin and the 10 others who followed them. On August 7, 2009, an act of Congress awarded the three astronauts a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award in the United States. The bill was sponsored by Florida Sen. Bill Nelson and Florida Rep. Alan Grayson. In July 2010, air to ground voice recordings and film footage shot in Mission Control during the Apollo 11 powered descent and landing was re-synchronised and released for the first time.