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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The Apollo 11 spacecraft was launched from Cape
3Kennedy on July 16, 1969 and was the first manned mission to
4land on the Moon; the first steps by humans on another
5celestial body were taken by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on
6July 20, 1969; Apollo 11 achieved its primary mission,
7performing a manned lunar landing and returning safely to
8Earth; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Photographs taken from lunar orbit provided broad
10views for the study of regional lunar geology; the planned
11sequence of activities included deployment of a Solar Wind
12Composition (SWC) experiment, collection of a larger sample of
13lunar material, panoramic photographs of the region near the
14landing site and the lunar horizon, close-up photographs of
15in-place lunar surface material, deployment of a Laser-Ranging
16Retroflector (LRRR) and a Passive Seismic Experiment Package
17(PSEP), and collection of two core-tube samples of the lunar
18surface; the astronauts returned to Earth with the first
19samples from another planetary body; and
 
20    WHEREAS, The Apollo 11 mission carried to the moon American
21flags, the flags of the 50 states, including Illinois, and the
22District of Columbia, the flags of the U.S. Territories, the
23United Nations, and other nations; a plaque with the signatures

 

 

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1of President Richard Nixon, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins,
2and Buzz Aldrin was affixed to the leg of the lunar landing;
3the plaque bears two images of the Earth and the inscription,
4"Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon
5July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind"; and
 
6    WHEREAS, On July 20, 1969, Commander Neil Armstrong and
7Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon while Command
8Module Pilot Michael Collins orbited above them; Commander
9Armstrong was the first to walk on the surface of the moon, and
10when he took his first footstep, he declared that it was "one
11small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind", a famous
12line that has inspired many and has passed into history; and
 
13    WHEREAS, The lunar landing program was the culmination of
14decades of work by hundreds of thousands of people working
15across dozens of science, technology, and engineering
16disciplines; it has been estimated that over 400,000 engineers,
17scientists, and technicians contributed to the moon landing
18mission; and
 
19    WHEREAS, In 1973, the total cost of the Apollo program
20reported to Congress was $25.4 billion, approximately $183
21billion in today's terms, which was paid for by American
22taxpayers; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Apollo 11 paved the way for the Apollo lunar
2landing missions to follow; therefore, be it
 
3    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL
4ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare July 20,
52019 Apollo 11 Day in the State of Illinois to commemorate the
650 year anniversary of the United States' first manned lunar
7landing and return.