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Apollo 11 at 50: The Race to the Moon – The Journey to the Moon

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View of Earth from orbit taken during the Apollo 11 mission. Image: NASA

View of Earth from orbit taken during the Apollo 11 mission. Image: NASA

50 years ago today, Apollo 11 and its crew were on the first day of their journey from Earth orbit to lunar orbit. As much as science fiction stories suggest that space travel is fast, in reality the distances involved are so enormous that it does take time – it would take three days to cross the quarter of a million miles to the Moon.

10 years ago on downthetubes, Jeremy Briggs wrote a 40th anniversary day-by-day celebration series of articles marking the Apollo 11 mission, featuring contemporary British comics and illustrations – and you can read his 17th July 1969 entry here, which spotlights the book, Rockets and Spacecraft Book 1, published by Orbit Books in the 1960s.

The Apollo 11 mission plan, as revealed in, presumably, The Times newspaper in July 1969 - this is from my scrapbook of the time but is not annotated.

The Apollo 11 mission plan, as revealed in, presumably, The Times newspaper in July 1969 – this is from my scrapbook of the time but is not annotated.

You might also want to check out our other 40th Anniversary celebration of the first Moon Landing: “Moon Landing 40th Anniversary: A Comics Celebration” – a small gallery of illustrations and comic art inspired by space exploration by comic creators such as Graeme Neil Reid and Dave Taylor.

WEB LINKS

• NASA: Apollo 11 in Real Time, 50 Years Later

• The Space Race from Audible on Amazon (Affiliate Link)

• “Moon Landing 40th Anniversary: A Comics Celebration” Gallery on Flickr

• NASA: Frequently Asked Questions about Apollo

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The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Star Trek Explorer (previously known as Star Trek Magazine) and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War and “Dan Dare”. He’s the writer of "Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies" for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.

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Categories: Art and Illustration, downthetubes News, Other Worlds

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1 reply

  1. Eric Hayman
    July 17, 2019 • 10:21 am

    I recall that shortly after Kennedy – in 1961 – set the goal of the USA putting a man on the Moon by the end of the 1960s, one bookmaker was offering odds of one thousand to one on it happening. Alas, I did not place a bet, not even a few shillings. I wonder how many people worldwide did take a punt. And how many could still find their betting slips in July 1969.

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