Let’s talk about some impressive figures and incredible context here.
55 years ago, the Apollo 11 mission, with the Saturn V rocket and Apollo spacecraft - traveled from the East Coast of Florida to the moon.
While the actual flight / mission distance was just over 950,000 miles - let’s just acknowledge the distance to the moon being an average of about 239,000 miles.
239,000 miles.
That’s like flying around the Earth 10 times.
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What was going on 55 years prior to that?
Let’s rewind to the year 1914.
In the same state, on the Gulf Coast, was the first regularly scheduled airline using fixed wing aircraft.
From St. Petersburg to Tampa (SPT Airboat Line) - about 23 miles.
23 miles.
Approximately 1/10,000th of the distance to the moon.
I’m sure there were longer continuous flights prior to that point but as a baseline for the advancement of air travel - that was about it.
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In 1949, 35 years later, was the first nonstop flight around the world - just over 23,000 miles.
23,000 miles.
1,000 times farther than in 1914 but less than 1/10th of the distance to the moon.
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55 years from now will be 2079 and just over 10,000 times the distance to the moon should get us to right around . . . Neptune.
Let’s go NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration
"The Eagle has landed."
On July 20, 1969—55 years ago today—Apollo 11 touched down on the Moon. Later that day, @NASA astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the lunar surface.
Now, we've been living and working in space for more than 20 consecutive years—and we're getting ready to build a long-term presence at the Moon and send humans to Mars. Here's what's next for Artemis: nasa.gov/artemis
