Apollo 11 anniversary: ?The eagle has landed“

On July 21 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first humans to put their feet on the moon. This week marks the 50th anniversary of this giant leap for mankind – and IBM was there from the start. 

About four thousand IBMers were involved in NASA’s Apollo program and were integral to the success of key elements: building the computers, writing the software programs that launched the missions, guiding them safely back to Earth, and inventing the miniaturized circuity, where we shrunk a giant mainframe down to the size of a briefcase. The computers used in the Apollo program issued a total of 22 control commands per second to ensure that the astronauts followed the most efficient path. The ten billion commands calculated during the course of the mission ensured that the three men aboard Apollo 11 would not only get to the Moon, but would also return safely. A tremendous technological and human achievement! 

For us, the 50th anniversary of the moon landing is a special occasion to celebrate the courageous men and women who took on this century-long project. And a personal motivation to continue to set new standards! Space still fascinates us at IBM, which is why we’ve developed CIMON, who last year became the first AI-powered astronaut assistant to support Alexander Gerst in experiments on the International Space Station.

Stay curious, go through the world with open eyes, and push the limits of what’s possible!