NASA landed on the Moon in 1969, just eight years after President John F Kennedy instructed America to beat the Soviet Union to the Moon. NASA’s Apollo 11 mission was spearheaded by astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin. But back here on Earth, the Moon landing was the product of some 400,000 people behind the Apollo space programme. This month, NASA will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the incredible achievement – the greatest story ever told in the history of human exploration.
Built off the back of the Mercury and Gemini programmes, the Apollo initiative was NASA’s most costly and ambitious project.
According to NASA, initial estimates pegged the Apollo programme at an astounding £15.9billion ($20billion), through to the end of the decade.
By the end of 1992, when accounting for inflation, the price tag would have been equal to £151billion (150billion).
NASA said: “Project Apollo, backed by sufficient funding, was the tangible result of an early national commitment in response to a perceived threat to the United States by the Soviet Union.
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NASA Moon landing: Apollo 11 landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969 (Image: NASA)
NASA Moon landing: Apollo 11 crew left Earth in a Saturn V rocket (Image: NASA)
“NASA leaders recognised that while the size of the task was enormous, it was still technologically and financially within their grasp, but they had to move forward quickly.”
NASA’s annual budget of £399million ($500million) in 1960 saw a significant boost to a high of £4.15billion ($5.2billon) by 1965.
And between 1959 and 1973 NASA spent approximately £18.8billion ($23.6billion) on human spaceflight, of which £15.9billion ($20billion) was for the Apollo programme.
A portion of the money, unsurprisingly, was spent on a massive increase in NASA staff – from 10,000 employees in 1960 to 36,000 by 1966.
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Ultimately, the cost of sending humans to the Moon came up to £20.3 ($25.4billion) at the time.
Was it worth it? The cost was high but the value in terms of human progress was immense
NASA said: “Project Apollo in general, and the flight of Apollo 11 in particular, should be viewed as a watershed in the nation’s history.
“It was an endeavour that demonstrated both the technological and economic virtuosity of the United States and established technologically preeminence over rival nations – the primary goal of the program when first envisioned by the Kennedy administration in 1961.”
However, 50 years later, was it worth spending all that money on Apollo 11 and the six lunar landings that followed?
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According to Professor Craig Underwood, from the Surrey Space Centre at the University of Surrey, Apollo 11 provided a priceless service to science.
Between 1969 and December 1972, human astronauts have logged in almost 300 hours on the surface of the Moon.
This, Professor Underwood stressed, has helped us better understand our place in the universe.
The space expert said: “Was it worth it? The cost was high – estimates vary but it was of the order of a few 10’s of billions of dollars – but the value in terms of human progress was immense.
Apollo 11 crew: Neil Armstring, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins (Image: NASA)
NASA Moon landing: A rare photo of Neil Armstrong on the surface of the Moon (Image: NASA)
“From a science perspective, we were able to obtain and date lunar material, which enabled us to understand the impact origin of lunar craters.
“This, in turn, enabled us to date other planetary surfaces by crater counting, giving us fresh insight into the formation and development of the solar system.
“We also found the evidence for the astonishing origin of the Moon – the impact of the Mars-sized planet ‘Theia’ with the early Earth.”
Better yet, Professor Underwood said, the Apollo programme inspired generations of scientists and engineers to come, himself inlaced.
He said: “It taught us all to believe that nothing is impossible, not be held back by fear and doubt and to grow by reaching beyond our grasp.”