Featured Records
50th Anniversary of Apollo 11
Visit the National Archives to see exclusive, featured documents from the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. From transcripts to flight plans, the museum will highlight some of the most important pieces of the monumental occasion. Documents will be on display through August 7, 2019 in the Rotunda Galleries.
Apollo 11 Flight Profile: Apollo 11 launched from Cape Kennedy, Florida, on July 16, 1969. For the next eight days the world closely tracked the mission’s progress as the crew flew to the Moon and back to Earth. This flight profile details the flight plan for the entire mission.
Apollo 11 Flight Plan: This flight plan for hour 102 of the Apollo 11 mission gives a timeline of tasks to be performed by the crew—Mike Collins (CMP), Neil Armstrong (CDR), and Buzz Aldrin (LMP)—and Mission Control in Houston (MCC-H). While Collins orbited the Moon in the Command Service Module (CSM) Columbia, Armstrong and Aldrin descended to the Moon’s surface in the Lunar Module (LM) Eagle. According to the plan, touchdown was expected at 102:47:11, but Armstrong’s voice crackled over the radio “the Eagle has landed” a minute and a half ahead of schedule.
Apollo 11 Flight Radio Transcript: Astronaut Neil Armstrong uttered the historic phrase “one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” as he took his first steps onto the Moon’s surface on July 20, 1969. This transcript of the Apollo 11 radio transmission to Mission Control documents the astronaut’s first impressions of the lunar surface but failed to capture Armstrong’s exact words. Whether the “a” before “man” in Armstrong’s statement was dropped due to an interruption in the transmission or because he misspoke remains a matter of debate.
Data Card for the Lunar Module: This “DATA CARD KIT” is a checklist of the EVA (extra vehicular activities) to be conducted by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin during their moon walk, including taking photographs, inspecting equipment, and collecting samples from the lunar surface. The Velcro squares on the card enabled the astronauts to attach the checklist to Velcro patches on their spacesuits and inside the Lunar Module.
Past Featured Records
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75th Anniversary of D-Day
On June 6, 1944, Allied forces launched the greatest amphibious invasion the world has ever seen. The historic D-day invasion of Normandy, France, was a turning point in World War II, but it was just the initial assault in a massive operation that liberated Western Europe... Read more
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Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm: “Unbought and Unbossed”
Shirley Chisholm became the first African American woman to serve in Congress when she took office in January of 1969. During her seven Congressional terms, “Fighting Shirley” was an outspoken champion for racial and gender equality, and economic justice. To mark the 50th anniversary of Chisholm’s... Read more
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Live from the Moon
Watch telecast footage of the 1968 Apollo 8 Mission, the first manned spacecraft to reach the Moon and safely return. This multimedia presentation features photos of the Moon’s surface taken from the spacecraft and an audio recording of the astronauts’ description of the lunar surface.
On display... Read more
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Meuse-Argonne Offensive Map
The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was the largest operation of the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I and the deadliest military campaign in American history. Fought from September 26 – November 11, 1918, by over a million American soldiers, the Meuse-Argonne operation was part of the final Allied offensive... Read more
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Alexander Hamilton: An Inspiring Founder
In celebration of Alexander Hamilton and the Broadway musical inspired by his extraordinary story, the National Archives will showcase original records from the Founder’s life and legacy, paired with related Hamilton lyrics.
On display in the East Rotunda Gallery through September 18, 2018.
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Remembering the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.: Business Information Surveys for the Civil Disturbance Report, June 1968.
In a turbulent decade filled with protests and social upheaval, the murder of the civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4, 1968, resulted in widespread civil unrest in many American cities, including Washington, DC. The riots resulted in millions of dollars in... Read more
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Telegram Requesting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Testimony before the House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee on the Proposed Voting Rights Act, March 18, 1965
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a driving force behind the march that began in Selma, Alabama on March 7, 1965 to protest the violent denial of African Americans’ right to vote. On March 15, President Lyndon Johnson addressed the nation in support of the Selma... Read more
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World War II Holiday Humor: Office of War Information “Santa” Memo
Someone in the Office of War Information (OWI) News Bureau was having a jolly old time writing this memorandum on Christmas Eve 1942. It concerns rumors flying around (by way of a reindeer-led sled) about a “man in whiskers who…will come down many chimneys bringing gifts... Read more
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Yeti Sightings and Rules, circa 1959
Just in time for Halloween, the National Archives Museum shares a 1959 State Department memo about the Yeti, the long-feared Abominable Snowman (and relative of Bigfoot). Study this document carefully before planning a climbing expedition to find this creature!
Believed by some to live in the... Read more
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Justice Thurgood Marshall: First African American Supreme Court Justice
On June 13, 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated distinguished civil rights lawyer Thurgood Marshall to be the first African American justice to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. Marshall had already made his mark in American law, having won 29 of the... Read more
