Apollo 17 - 50th Anniversary: How Australia supported Apollo

December 2022 marks 50 years since humankind has walked on the Moon or travelled beyond low Earth orbit. The final Apollo mission launched on December 7, 1972 with Commander Gene Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt landing on the lunar surface December 12 (Australian time), while Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans orbited the surface in the Command and Service module (CSM). NASA tracking stations in Australia supported the Apollo missions, providing vital communications and telemetry links with the astronauts.

The Discovery Centre will be hosting a special event on Sunday, 18th December at 1pm (ACDT) to celebrate Australia's contribution to the last time humans set foot on the Moon, setting the scene for NASA’s future Artemis missions. Space Historian Kerrie Dougherty will be joined by Mike Dinn and John Saxon, former managers at NASA’s Honeysuckle Creek and Tidbinbilla tracking stations near Canberra, which supported the Apollo lunar missions, to discuss their experiences with Apollo 17.  

Hosted by the Australian Space Discovery Centre, attend this one-time event in person or online. This will run for an hour and a half with time for questions. Those attending in person will also have the opportunity to explore the rest of what the Space Discovery Centre has to offer.

This session is suited for ages 12 and up.