Steve’s Virtual Planet

International Moon Day 2024

Today is the 55th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing and humanity’s first steps on another world. As NASA posted this week, from “One Small Step, One Giant Leap” … “In July 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin completed humanity’s first landing on the Moon. They fulfilled President John F. Kennedy’s national goal, set in May 1961, to land a man on the Moon and return him safely to the Earth before the end of the decade.”

Since 2021, today’s date has been set aside to commemorate this monumental achievement. At that time, the United Nations General Assembly declared July 20 as International Moon Day in recognition of the first human landing on the Moon. The U.N. said “The celebrations will also consider the achievements of all States in the exploration of the Moon and raise public awareness of sustainable Moon exploration and utilization”. The 2024 theme is “Illuminating the Shadows” to bring further attention to the missions to the lunar south pole.

This is now a global commemoration with various sponsors already involved. There are also events in Washington DC to celebrate the achievement and also to promote exploration of the Moon by the global space faring communities. With quite a number of countries now participating in lunar exploration, this event serves to bring additional focus on this international cooperation.