neil armstrong

Moon dust gathered by Neil Armstrong discovered in warehouse after 40 years

Several miscellaneous bits and pieces of the first moon mission have orbited back into our field of view lately.

In March, it was pieces of the rocket that propelled Apollo 11 spaceward, kindly dragged from their watery grave by Amazon CEO and space enthusiast Jeff Bezos.

And more recently, the auction block played host to Buzz Aldrin's space jammies, as well as Neil Armstrong's jumpin' heartbeat as he first set foot on the lunar surface.

Now, thanks to Karen Nelson, a tidy archivist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, about 20 forgotten vials of moon dust collected by Armstrong and Aldrin have been rescued from a grave of their own: a warehouse at the Berkeley lab, where they'd sat quietly gathering, um, Earth dust for the last 40 years or so.… Read more

Crave Ep. 120: Be careful where you leave your DNA

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An artist combs public places for gum, hair, and cigarette butts, and then 3D-prints portraits of the unsuspecting people who've left their DNA behind. Plus, we take a look at a laser-powered flashlight, and get our heads chopped off in an app for the Oculus Rift head-mounted display. … Read more

Neil Armstrong's moon walk EKG reading up for auction

We've all seen the video of man's first step on the moon. NASA's medical team back down on Earth saw that first step in a slightly different light, in the form of Armstrong's electrocardiogram reading from the moment he set his foot down. That little 6-inch strip is going up for online auction at RR Auction.

The strip comes in a presentation frame along with an Armstrong autopen signature and various mission patches. "After the landing, this EKG report was saved by the Manager of Medical Administration for the Space Center. It was cut up into five pieces; four were presented to the attending physicians on the medical team," reads the description.… Read more

Neil Armstrong memorial on September 13 to be livestreamed

The public will have a chance to say goodbye to astronaut Neil Armstrong in a memorial service on September 13 that will be livesteamed from the Washington National Cathedral.

Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, died at age 82 late last month after complications from cardiovascular surgery. The icon of the space age is best remembered for taking "one giant leap for mankind" as he stepped off the footpad of the Apollo 11 lunar lander Eagle and onto the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969.

The memorial service, scheduled to begin at 10 … Read more

The speech Nixon had prepped for an Apollo 11 disaster

One historical tidbit worth another look in the aftermath of astronaut Neil Armstrong' death on Saturday at the age of 82: The text of the speech President Richard Nixon had his staff prepare in the event of a disaster befalling Armstrong's Apollo 11 mission. The speech, dug up by The Daily, was written by then-Nixon speechwriter William Safire, who later became a columnist for the New York Times. Happily, his boss never had to give that address.

Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest … Read more

Keep on rockin' in the free version

Links from Thursday's episode of Loaded:

Spotify extends free, unlimited trial Bump Pay transfers money Free Photoshop CS6 preview Apple CEO Tim Cook visits China Kindle Fire update Amazon CEO found rockets from Apollo 11 Subscribe: iTunes (MP3) | iTunes (320x180) | iTunes (HD) | RSS (MP3) | RSS (320x180) | RSS HD

Moonwalk footage being restored after original video lost

As NASA celebrates the 40th anniversary of man's first trip to the moon, the space agency is taking some hits for failing to preserve the best historical record of the Apollo 11 flight.

NASA acknowledged on Thursday that the original TV footage of the moon landing on July 20, 1969, was accidentally erased. Someone wanted to make room on the videotape reel that stored the footage. So, did NASA's goof rob future generations from watching what was arguably mankind's greatest achievement?

Not hardly. Remember at NASA, failure is not an option.

A Hollywood post-production house was enlisted … Read more