BANG! We’re on the moon!

In many people’s minds, that’s what the Apollo 11 Moon landing was: an isolated event that was one giant leap from Earth’s surface to the Moon’s.

But Neil Armstrong’s one small step was only possible because of the many prior small steps that made Apollo 11 possible. In LSC’s new show, Apollo to the Moon!, you’ll retrace those steps from your seat in the Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium, the biggest planetarium in the Western Hemisphere.

Playing during our Moon Mania: The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11 event, Apollo to the Moon! will take you on an immersive journey through the Space Race, starting with the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik, a satellite the size of a beach ball.

Don’t let that small size deceive you though, because Sputnik started something astronomical. Five years later, President John F. Kennedy declared, “We choose to go to the Moon!”

That bold goal seemed impossible. But the United States achieved Kennedy’s vision in three stages: Mercury, which got an astronaut into space; Gemini, which gave NASA experience working in space; and Apollo, which went to the Moon. In Apollo to the Moon!, you’ll learn about all three of these vital space-race stages.

Along the way, you’ll blast off on a Saturn V, the gargantuan rocket of the Apollo missions. Over 360 feet tall, Saturn V’s were the biggest and most powerful rockets ever made. And you’ll even get an astronaut’s-eye-view of riding a moon buggy on the lunar surface!

Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium,  Moon Mania,  moons,  NASA,  Neil Armstrong,  space