A real-time journey through the first landing on the Moon

This website replays the Apollo 11 mission as it happened, 50 years ago. It consists entirely of historical material, all timed to Ground Elapsed Time--the master mission clock. Footage of Mission Control, film shot by the astronauts, and television broadcasts transmitted from space and the surface of the Moon, have been painstakingly placed to the very moments they were shot during the mission, as has every photograph taken, and every word spoken.

Upon starting the application, select whether to begin one minute before launch, or click "Now" to drop in exactly 50 years ago, to-the-second during the anniversary.

Navigate to any moment of the mission using the time navigator at the top of the screen. The top bar is the entire mission with two bars below it providing magnification. Selecting transcript items, photos, commentary items, or guided tour moments, also jumps the mission time to the moment they occurred.

Main mission audio consists of space-to-ground (left ear), capcom loop (right ear), and on-board recorder (center, when available). Selecting a Mission Control audio channel mutes the main audio, opens the Mission Control audio panel, and plays the "live" audio of that Mission Control position. Change channels by selecting the seats in mission control. Closing the Mission Control audio panel will unmute the main audio and continue mission playback.

These 50 channels of Mission Control audio have only recently been digitized and restored, and are made publicly available here for the first time. They total over 11,000 hours in length.

Ben Feist Concept, research, mission data restoration, audio restoration, video, software architecture and programming. Follow @BenFeist for updates.

Chris Bennett Visual design, interface styling and programming David Charney Visual design Arnfinn Holderer Audio restoration programming

Dr. John Hansen and the National Science Foundation 30-track Mission Control audio digitization. More info at exploreapollo.org

NASA Headquarters Dr. Bill Barry Chief Historian, NASA HQ Dr. Jacob Bleacher Chief Exploration Scientist, NASA HQ

NASA Johnson Space Center Dr. Cindy Evans Division Chief, Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Division, NASA JSC

Dan Garrison Jacobs Technology, NASA JSC Dr. Ryan Zeigler Manager, Apollo Curator, ARES, NASA JSC

Sandra Tetley Real Property Officer, Historic Preservation Officer, NASA JSC Greg Wiseman 30-track Mission Control audio digitization, NASA JSC

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Dr. Noah Petro Project Scientist, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Planetary Geology, Geochemistry and Geophysics Lab, NASA Goddard

David Woods Author, How Apollo Flew to the Moon Kipp Teague Apollo mission photography Paul Vanezis EVA footage NASA Apollo Flight Journal NASA Apollo Lunar Surface Journal Internet Archive The crew of Apollo 11 The men and women of Mission Control

One nuance that I noticed with the real time clock on the web site is that the clock is set on the time zone that your computer is set on, but is set according to the legal time in that time zone at the time of the event. For instance, if you have your computer set to America/Anchorage, the time will display in the old Alaska Hawaii Daylight Time which is one hour behind the Alaska Daylight Time that is currently observed in Anchorage and most of Alaska.

197:29:03

Chaplain Let us pray. Lord, God, our Heavenly Father. Our minds are staggered and our spirit exalted with the magnitude and precision of this entire Apollo 11 mission. We have spent the past week in communal anxiety and hope as our astronauts sped through the glories and dangers of the heavens. As we try to understand and analyze the scope of this achievement for human life, our reason is overwhelmed with abounding gratitude and joy, even as we realize the increasing challenges of the future. This magnificent event illustrates anew what man can accomplish when purpose is firm and intent corporate. A man on the Moon was promised in this decade. And, though some were unconvinced, the reality is with us this morning, in the persons of astronauts Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins. We applaud their splendid exploits and we pour out our thanksgiving for their safe return to us, to their families, to all mankind. From our inmost beings, we sing humble, yet exuberant praise. May the great effort and commitment seen in this project, Apollo, inspire our lives to move similarly in other areas of need. May we the people by our enthusiasm and devotion and insight move to new landings in brotherhood, human concern, and mutual respect. May our country, afire with inventive leadership and backed by a committed followership, blaze new trails into all areas of human cares. See our enthusiasm and bless our joy with dedicated purpose for the many needs at hand. Link us in friendship with peoples throughout the world as we strive together to better the human condition. Grant us peace, beginning in our own hearts, and a mind attuned with good will towards our neighbor. All this we pray as our thanksgiving rings out to Thee. In the name of our Lord, amen.

Mission Clock ends

198:08:18

Thank you for joining me on this historic anniversary.

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