Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission

A stunning visual journey to the Moon and back

June 11 – September 25, 2021

This summer we will celebrate the 52nd anniversary of the historic moon landing. But what did it take to successfully navigate the 953,054-mile voyage and not just land but also return a manned aircraft to the lunar surface?

Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission chronicles the journey not just of the Apollo 11 astronauts but the “giant leaps” made in aviation and space exploration before and after. Seven different large scale posters explore the mission, the history, the astronauts themselves as well as the launch, landing, and successful return.

This is eight-poster exhibition is included with your Museum admission purchase.

Official crew photo of the Apollo 11 Prime Crew. From left to right are astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Commander; Michael Collins, Command Module Pilot; and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, Lunar Module Pilot. Credit: Photo courtesy of NASA

On July 24, 1969, Apollo 11 met President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 challenge of “landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” The poster exhibition Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission explores what led the United States to accept this challenge and how the resulting 953,054-mile voyage to the Moon and back was accomplished just eight years after the program was authorized. Destination Moon examines the mission and recognizes the sacrifices and devotion of more than 400,000 people employed in NASA programs who worked through the trials, tragedies and triumphs of the 20 missions from 1961 to 1969 before Apollo 11.

Fifty years later, the Apollo program remains the benchmark for great national achievement. When Apollo 11 landed on the Moon and humans first set foot on another celestial body, it gave humanity a new perspective from which to view ourselves. Using this poster exhibition, viewers will be able to look back at this historic mission, and hopefully envision the next generation of innovators, scientists, explorers and astronauts.

Columbia command module pilot Michael Collins inside the craft. Credit: Photo courtesy of NASA

Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission Poster Exhibition is based on a traveling exhibition of the same name, developed by the National Air and Space Museum and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. The exhibition is made possible by the support of Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos, Joe Clark, Bruce R. McCaw Family Foundation, the Charles and Lisa Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences, John and Susann Norton, and Gregory D. and Jennifer Walston Johnson.