The Postal Service recently unveiled two forever stamps commemorating Apollo 11. One shows a photograph taken by Neil Armstrong of Buzz Aldrin while another features an image of the moon with a dot representing where Apollo 11’s lunar module “Eagle” landed in the Sea of Tranquility.
The First Man on the Moon
Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the Moon on July 20, 1969, fulfilling a national goal set by President John F. Kennedy and marking a significant victory in the Space Race. For this achievement he would later receive numerous honors, such as Presidential Medal of Freedom, Collier Trophy and Congressional Space Medal of Honor awards; Armstrong also helped shape NASA into one of the premier space agencies worldwide.
On Friday morning near where Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin and his fellow crewmembers landed their lunar module Eagle, two nondenominated forever stamps will be unveiled as part of a first-day ceremony and made available for purchase online and at local post offices, along with an official first-day cover designed by USPS art director Antonio Alcala and featuring his photograph on the lunar surface taken by commander Neil Armstrong with the Eagle landing site shown with a dot in its center. The stamps can also be purchased as first day covers designed by Antonio Alcala which features his photo on top with its dot indicating where Eagle landed its home – something no other stamp can dot ever dot can do!
Stamps issued by USPS commemorate 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11 mission and can be found alongside United States Mint’s Apollo 11 commemorative coins as perfect mementoes of this remarkable event. One stamp features Armstrong taking a photo of Aldrin that was included in their Personal Preference Kit; another features color photo taken by amateur astronomer Gregory Revera from Huntsville Alabama of Moon landscape taken during their Apollo 11 expedition. Both sets can be purchased together.
Armstrong hails from Wapakoneta, Ohio where he earned his high school diploma and worked as an apprentice at a nearby airfield to pay for flying lessons. Although well-known in aviation circles, Armstrong preferred not to stay in the limelight despite media attention; over time he grew tired of having fans visit his home often enough and eventually stopped signing autographs altogether.
Philately played an essential part of Apollo 11 crew’s mission, as each astronaut signed and sent home an envelope postmarked with its launch date containing letters back home using envelopes as mail carriers, according to collectSPACE. Astronauts could carry up to 33 pounds of mail on missions; used these envelopes as postmen while communicating back home using satellite phones or sending postcards home using postmarking machines, collecting SPACE reported.
The Lunar Module
The Lunar Module, or LM, was the vehicle that carried astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the moon’s surface. Constructed on Long Island by Grumman Corporation workers on Long Island New York, this vehicle featured a docking port for its Command/Service Module (CSM), housing living quarters for crewmembers; in addition to having space dedicated for lunar surface experiments packages which contained tools and supplies needed for extended moonwalks.
On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 made history as the first spacecraft ever to touch down on the Moon while other manned space missions had reached orbit. To fulfill their primary mission goal of landing safely on the lunar surface in the Sea of Tranquility in the Sea of Tranquility region. Once there, three footpads were deployed onto its surface so Armstrong and Aldrin could exit via stairs from their lander and begin exploring further.
Once on the Moon, the three astronauts carried out several symbolic actions including planting an American flag, unrolling a plaque there, and taking photographs. When they returned to CSM they were honored with a ticker tape parade in New York City and awarded with the Medal of Freedom; an honor highest awarded to US civilians.
Aldrin and Armstrong received seventeen medals from other countries and the Congressional Space Medal of Honor; unfortunately Aldrin died in 1974 but Armstrong is still with us and featured prominently on one of two new Apollo 11 Forever stamps.
USPS art director Antonio Alcala designed these stamps, released July 19th. These commemorative stamps mark a first: commemorative stamps featuring photos taken of astronauts on the lunar surface taken on July 19, as well as being the first ever featuring images taken directly from its surface.
Alcala’s design was printed using offset and intaglio presses, with the former producing light blue sky areas, the astronaut’s spacesuit and capsule; Giori press’ etching process created blacks and dark blues of spacecraft and astronaut. An engraved master die was sent along with Apollo 11 crew along with proofs of stamp design as part of an envelope filled with proofs weighing only 161g; however despite an attempt by Postmaster General to have crew cancel their envelope from lunar module due to limited time available for postal clerk duties by NASA who insisted their limited time could better spent performing other roles on other planets than being postal clerks!
Neil Armstrong
The US Postal Service recently unveiled two stamps to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11’s “Eagle” lunar module landing site in the Sea of Tranquility. These Forever stamps designed by art director Antonio Alcala feature iconic images of Buzz Aldrin and the lunar surface, such as NASA imagery of him wearing his spacesuit on the lunar surface or photographs with yellow dots that indicate where their landing occurred in Sea of Tranquility.
Neil Armstrong was born August 5, 1930 in Wapakoneta, Ohio and joined the Navy Air Cadet Corps at 16 as an outstanding student and Eagle Scout – an honor he held until his death in 2012. As a scout he developed an interest in aviation and flight and joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in 1955 before later going on to become an astronaut himself in 1962.
Armstrong was among the second group of NASA astronauts to train for an Apollo lunar landing mission. Together with fellow astronauts Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin, Armstrong successfully landed on July 20, 1969, in the Sea of Tranquility. Once on the Moon, the trio carried out experiments as well as taking photographs; their mission marked a huge success that helped usher in the Space Age. When returning home on July 24, 1969 they were met by crowds for a ticker tape parade in New York City – for which Armstrong received multiple accolades including awards such as Medal of Freedom and Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
Armstrong became an esteemed scientist and engineer throughout his lifetime, serving as both professor of aeronautical engineering at the University of Cincinnati until his retirement in 1979 – until his death on August 25, 2012, at age 90.
On Friday, two Moon Landing Forever stamps will be issued by the Postal Service and dedicated at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Merritt Island, Florida, according to a spokesperson of the Postal Service. Attendees at this dedication event will receive an exclusive first-day cover featuring both stamps.
Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrin became the second human to step foot on the moon after Neil Armstrong led mission control on July 20, 1969. Aldrin and Armstrong spent 21 hours exploring and collecting 46 pounds of moon rocks while broadcasting their experience live to television audiences worldwide. Following these adventures, the United States Postal Service issued commemorative stamps of Armstrong and Aldrin on the lunar surface, then later one showing them returning to their spacecraft; Aldrin likened being present during these unveilings like being Elvis Presley at an unveiling.
Aldrin was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey to Marion (nee Moon) and Edwin Eugene Aldrin of Scottish, Swedish and German ancestry. After he graduated Montclair High School in 1946 he was accepted into US Military Academy at West Point; however he opted instead to join the Air Force instead and flew F-86 Sabre jets on combat missions in Korea while shooting down two MIG-15s en route – earning himself two MIG-15 kills along the way and also receiving his Ph D in astronautics from MIT.
NASA first enlisted Aldrin for their Gemini program in 1966. There, he developed technology for rendezvousing spacecraft in Earth or lunar orbit and docking them for spaceflight – something which proved vital when Apollo called upon his services later that same year. His expertise would prove key to its success.
Aldrin served as command module pilot during Gemini XII flight and later joined Michael Collins and Harrison Schmitt on Apollo 8’s back-up crew, after which they selected Aldrin as the second man on the moon for Apollo 11. Following this success of Apollo 8, Aldrin was chosen as second man on the moon for Apollo 11.
Aldrin and Armstrong captured this historic event during their mission on the lunar surface by filming themselves speaking directly with Earth in what became known as “Earthrise” sequence. After this filming session was complete, Aldrin and Armstrong used Eagle lunar module to return safely back home using “Eagle”. To mark their achievement a commemorative stamp was issued commemorating this landing site at Mare Tranquillitatis or Sea of Tranquility.
After his landing, Aldrin continued his advocacy efforts for privatizing space and to foster support for America’s space program. He designed rockets, wrote six books, and advocated concepts for future travel into space – as well as inspiring Disney’s Buzz Lightyear character.