“…this nation will move forward, with the full speed of freedom, in the exciting adventure of space.”–President John F. Kennedy
United States Mint Call for Artists
On July 20, 1969, America and the world watched as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took mankind’s first steps on the lunar surface. This unprecedented engineering, scientific, and political achievement, the culmination of the efforts of an estimated 400,000 Americans, secured our Nation’s leadership in space for generations to come. The national goal set in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy was fulfilled when the crew of Apollo 11—Armstrong, Aldrin, and Michael Collins—safely returned to Earth on July 24, 1969. Nearly half a century later, the United States is the only country ever to have attempted and succeeded in landing humans on a celestial body other than Earth and safely returning them home.
In recognition of the 50th anniversary of the first manned landing on the Moon, Public Law 114-282 authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue curved $5 gold coins, curved $1 silver coins, curved half-dollar clad coins, and curved 5 ounce $1 silver proof coins. This commemorative coin program offers an opportunity for our nation to recognize the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, and to honor the United States space program leading up to the first manned Moon landing.
Important Dates
Applications Open: May 1, 2017
Application Deadline: June 29, 2017
Artists Notified if Selected to Submit a Design: July 31, 2017
Submissions Must Be Received By: September 8, 2017
Winner Announced: 2018
and Determination of the United States
Yesterday’s Mission – Today’s Progress – Tomorrow’s Innovation
The first manned lunar landing on July 20, 1969, was the culmination of a goal set eight years prior by President John F. Kennedy. It was a time of great technological advances which tapped the depth of knowledge in the fields of science, engineering and math. Project Apollo ultimately impacted other facets of American achievements including: the creation of technology to meet other national interests in space; a new prominence for American space exploration; a program of scientific exploration on the Moon, and the capability to work in the lunar environment. Today’s astronauts would not be as capable or equipped to continue the efforts of space exploration if not for the foundation that Apollo 11 created.
Astronautical History in the Making
On July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 spacecraft deployed from Launch Complex 39A at the John F. Kennedy Space Center carrying Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins, who would become the first of mankind to complete a crewed lunar landing.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, designed, assembled, and tested the most powerful launch vehicle in history, the Saturn V rocket, which was used for the Apollo missions in the 1960s and 1970s.
The Saturn V weighed 6,200,000 pounds and generated 7,600,000 pounds of thrust, which NASA has equated to generating more power than 86 Hoover Dams.
– Apollo 11 50th Anniversary
Commemorative Coin Act
Apollo 11 accomplished the national goal set forth in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy, who stated at Rice University the following year, “We choose to go to the Moon. We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.”
At the height of the Cold War, the Apollo space program provided the United States and the free world with a powerful symbolic win, demonstrating the strength, ambition, and determination of the United States in technological and economic advancement, and securing our Nation’s leadership in space for generations to come.
– Apollo 11 50th Anniversary
Commemorative Coin Act
During the time period from 1969 through 1972, NASA completed eight Apollo missions and landed 12 men on the Moon. The six missions that landed on the Moon returned with a wealth of groundbreaking scientific data and over 800 pounds of lunar samples.
— Apollo 11 50th Anniversary
Commemorative Coin Act
An estimated 400,000 Americans contributed to the successful program that led to the lunar landing on July 20, 1969, including NASA scientists, engineers, astronauts, industry contractors and their engineering and manufacturing workforce, as well as the political leadership of Republicans and Democrats in Congress and the White House.
– Apollo 11 50th Anniversary
Commemorative Coin Act
The Apollo program, along with its predecessor Mercury and Gemini programs, inspired generations of American students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), which has fueled innovation and economic growth throughout a range of industries over the last four decades.
– Apollo 11 50th Anniversary
Commemorative Coin Act
The Apollo 11 mission, culminating in man’s first steps on the Moon on July 20, 1969, honored the fallen astronauts of the Apollo 1 crew, whose innovative work and bravery will be remembered forever.
– Apollo 11 50th Anniversary
Commemorative Coin Act