NASA’s historic Apollo 11 mission successfully landed humans on the lunar surface for the first time on July 20th, 1969, and then returned them safely to Earth. The Apollo program, driven by the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, and taking place against the backdrop of the turbulent 1960s, would become a symbol of humanity’s innate curiosity and breathtaking ingenuity, inspiring awe and appreciation the world over.

The exhibition includes photographs of the historic mission where men from Earth first set foot on the Moon; a theater where visitors can learn more about the other manned Moon missions; and interpretive text, graphics and popular culture artifacts from the period.

In the five decades since the manned missions our Moon has not gone unexplored. The exhibition will also display amazing, large-scale, high-resolution photographs of the lunar surface taken between 2009 and 2015 by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. These images provide unique visual data to help answer our questions about the Moon’s formation, its continuing geological evolution and its relationship to Earth.
Looking forward, the exhibition considers the future of the Moon, when we might return and the potential for a continual presence for humankind on our only natural satellite and closest neighbor in space.

One Small Step was produced by the Evansville Museum.