IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 117 

Commemorating the 40th Anniversary of humanity’s first landing on the 

Moon, celebrating the success of the United States human space flight 

program, and recognizing the accomplishments of NASA’s human space 

flight centers. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 4, 2009 

Mr. CULBERSON submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 

referred to the Committee on Science and Technology 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Commemorating the 40th Anniversary of humanity’s first 

landing on the Moon, celebrating the success of the 

United States human space flight program, and recognizing the accomplishments of NASA’s human space 

flight centers. 

Whereas President John F. Kennedy inspired our Nation to 

new heights when he remarked on May 25, 1961, ‘‘I believe that this Nation should commit itself to achieving 

the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on 

the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive 

to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive 

to accomplish’’; 


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Whereas the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 

at President Kennedy’s direction, worked diligently to 

land a man on the Moon; 

Whereas the mission of Apollo 11, which departed Earth on 

July 16, 1969, was to perform a manned lunar landing 

and return safely to Earth; 

Whereas Apollo 11’s crew consisted of Commander Neil 

Alden Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene ‘‘Buzz’’ 

Aldrin, Jr.; 

Whereas, on July 20, 1969, the Lunar Module ‘‘Eagle’’ landed on the surface of the Moon, and Neil A. Armstrong 

took the first steps on the Moon and remarked, ‘‘That’s 

one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind’’; 

Whereas the plaque affixed to the landing gear of the Eagle 

read: ‘‘HERE MEN FROM THE PLANET EARTH FIRST SET

FOOT UPON THE MOON JULY 1969 A.D. WE CAME IN

PEACE FOR ALL MANKIND’’; 

Whereas the first lunar landing was viewed by millions of 

Americans on television and countless others throughout 

the world; 

Whereas Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin spent 

more than two hours exploring the surface of the Moon 

performing and setting up experiments to study solar 

wind composition, lunar seismic activity, lunar dust and 

soil mechanics, and lunar field geology, among other 

things; 

Whereas Apollo 11 astronauts returned the first samples 

from another planetary body; these first samples were basalts, dark-colored igneous rocks, and aged 3.7 billion 

years; 


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Whereas the science conducted by the Apollo missions provided scientists around the world with new information 

about Earth’s nearest neighbor, and its discoveries included the following: 

(1) The Moon is not a primordial object. It is an 

evolved terrestrial planet with internal zoning similar to 

that of Earth. Before Apollo, the state of the Moon was 

a subject of almost unlimited speculation. 

(2) The Moon is made of rocky material that has 

been variously melted, erupted through volcanoes, and 

crushed by meteorite impacts. 

(3) The Moon is ancient and still preserves an early 

history (the first billion years) that must be common to 

all terrestrial planets. The extensive record of meteorite 

craters on the Moon, when calibrated using absolute ages 

of rock samples, provides a key for unraveling time scales 

for the geologic evolution of Mercury, Venus, and Mars 

based on their individual crater records. Before Apollo, 

the origin of lunar impact craters was not fully understood and the origin of similar craters on Earth was 

highly debated. 

(4) The youngest Moon rocks are virtually as old as 

the oldest Earth rocks. The earliest processes and events 

that probably affected both planetary bodies can now only 

be found on the Moon. Moon rock ages range from about 

3.2 billion years in the maria (dark, low basins) to nearly 

4.6 billion years in the terrae (light, rugged highlands). 

(5) The Moon and Earth are related and formed 

from different proportions of a common reservoir of materials. 

(6) The Moon is lifeless; it contains no living organisms, fossils, or native organic compounds. Extensive 

testing revealed no evidence for life, past or present, 


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among the lunar samples; even nonbiological organic 

compounds are amazingly absent. Traces can be attributed to contamination by meteorites. 

(7) All Moon rocks originated through high-temperature processes with little or no involvement with water. 

They are roughly divisible into three types: basalts, 

anorthosites, and breccias. 

(8) Early in its history, the Moon was melted to 

great depths to form a ‘‘magma ocean’’. The lunar highlands contain the remnants of early, low-density rocks 

that floated to the surface of the magma ocean. The 

lunar highlands were formed about 4.4 to 4.6 billion 

years ago by flotation of an early, feldspar-rich crust on 

a magma ocean that covered the Moon to a depth of 

many tens of kilometers or more. 

(9) The lunar magma ocean was followed by a series 

of huge asteroid impacts that created basins which were 

later filled by lava flows. The large, dark basins such as 

Mare Imbrium are gigantic impact craters, formed early 

in lunar history, that were later filled by lava flows about 

3.2 to 3.9 billion years ago. Lunar volcanism occurred 

mostly as lava floods that spread horizontally. Volcanic 

fire fountains produced deposits of orange and emeraldgreen glass beads. 

(10) The Moon is slightly asymmetrical in bulk 

form, possibly as a consequence of its evolution under 

Earth’s gravitational influence. Its crust is thicker on the 

far side, while most volcanic basins—and unusual mass 

concentrations—occur on the near side. 

(11) The surface of the Moon is covered by a rubble 

pile of rock fragments and dust, called the lunar regolith, 

that contains a unique radiation history of the Sun, 


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which is of importance to understanding climate changes 

on Earth; 

Whereas, beyond their scientific achievements, the Apollo 

missions also afforded all the peoples of the world an unprecedented opportunity to see their home planet as a 

fragile abode of life in the cosmos, contributing to the development of the ecology movement; 

Whereas NASA’s rich history of human flight into space continues today with the Constellation Program, which will 

return American astronauts to the Moon in 2020; 

Whereas Constellation represents the next generation of 

United States human space flight systems, and the continuation of a strategic national capability; 

Whereas these new expeditions will build upon the science 

and technology of the Apollo Program and NASA’s pioneering work in space in the decades since, enabling future explorers to stay on the lunar surface for longer 

than was possible in the 1960s and 1970s; 

Whereas lessons learned by these men and women will continue to expand our knowledge of the Moon and the solar 

system, and inform the development of technologies and 

techniques Americans will use in furthering the reach of 

humans beyond the Earth-Moon system; 

Whereas, on September 19, 1961, Houston was chosen by 

NASA as the site for its Manned Spacecraft Center; 

Whereas beginning with the Gemini 4 mission in 1965 and 

continuing with subsequent missions throughout the 

1960s and 1970s, the Manned Spacecraft Center in 

Houston was central to the operations of human flights 

to space; 


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Whereas the Manned Spacecraft Center played a key role in 

the Apollo Program, providing Mission Control for the 

flights as well as intensive training for the astronauts, 

and engineering development activities that pushed the 

boundary of the state of the art; 

Whereas the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas, 

was renamed Johnson Space Center in 1973 and has 

continued to be the operations center of the human space 

flight program through the Skylab, Apollo-Soyuz, Space 

Shuttle, and International Space Station programs; 

Whereas Johnson Space Center’s foundation remains its people—their talent, vision, and dedication—and the integrated organizational framework composed of the engineers, program managers, astronauts, flight controllers, 

flight surgeons, and scientists; 

Whereas in July 1962 NASA established its Launch Operations Center on Florida’s east coast, and renamed it in 

late 1963 to honor the President who put America on the 

path to the Moon; 

Whereas NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center has helped 

set the stage for America’s adventure in space for more 

than four decades, serving as the point of departure for 

American human space missions and hundreds of advanced scientific spacecraft; 

Whereas from the early days of Project Mercury to the Space 

Shuttle and International Space Station, from the 

Hubble Space Telescope to the Mars Exploration Rovers, 

the Center enjoys a rich heritage in its vital role as 

NASA’s processing and launch center; 

Whereas, since its beginning in 1960, Marshall Space Flight 

Center in Huntsville, Alabama, has provided NASA with 


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mission-critical design, development, and integration of 

the launch and space systems required for space operations, exploration, and scientific missions; 

Whereas Marshall’s legacy in rocket science includes providing the rockets for the Apollo Program, developing the 

Space Shuttle’s propulsion system, and managing the development of Skylab, Spacelab, International Space Station nodes, the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra Xray Observatory, and many scientific instruments; 

Whereas Dr. Wernher von Braun, the first director of 

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and his team of rocket scientists designed the 

mammoth Saturn V rocket that launched humans to the 

Moon; 

Whereas NASA’s Mississippi Test Operations site was established to test the engines for the Apollo Program; 

Whereas the facility was renamed in 1988 for Mississippi’s 

Senator John C. Stennis, and is now the Nation’s largest 

rocket engine testing facility; 

Whereas Stennis Space Center tests all the main engines for 

the Space Shuttle and will test the engines for NASA’s 

Constellation Program; 

Whereas NASA’s greatest asset will continue to be its people, 

the thousands of individuals across the country in both 

government and industry who conceive, design, build, operate, and manage an ambitious program of space exploration on behalf of the Nation; 

Whereas this workforce includes about 13,000 employees at 

the Kennedy Space Center, over 15,000 at the Johnson 

Space Center, over 1,600 at the Stennis Space Center, 

and over 7,000 at Marshall Space Flight Center, who 


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make NASA’s achievements possible, and contribute to 

both the local economies of communities around their 

Centers and the national economy as a whole; 

Whereas NASA’s human space flight teams are working to 

transition the Agency from operating the Space Shuttle 

to expanding America’s reach to the Moon, Mars, and beyond; and 

Whereas at the same time, the teams are operating and utilizing the International Space Station, the first element 

of which was launched into orbit more than ten years 

ago, so that America can learn what it needs to know 

about long-duration space flight in order to make future 

flights of exploration possible: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That Congress commemorates the 40th Anni3 versary of the first landing on the Moon. 

Æ 


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