On Saturday, July 20, Craters of the Moon staff and partner organizations will host a special event celebrating the 50th anniversary of astronauts walking on the moon — on the lunar surface and right here in Idaho. According to a press release, special activities will include presentations by astronaut John Phillips, youth activities and opportunities to view the lunar surface through a telescope. Moonfest events will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Robert Limbert Visitor Center and from 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at the Lava Flow Campground Amphitheater.

On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 landed on the moon and astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the lunar surface. About a month later, on August 22, several astronauts associated with the Apollo 14 mission visited Craters of the Moon National Monument in preparation for their 1971 lunar mission. Astronauts Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, Joe Engle and Eugene Cernan visited Craters of the Moon in order to learn the basics of volcanic geology. Since only a limited amount of rock samples could be returned to earth, it was important that they were able to identify the most scientifically valuable specimens.

Craters of the Moon continues to be an important venue for space science research. NASA scientists recently concluded two research efforts in which they utilized the lava landscape as a stand-in for Mars to test remote sensing, communication methods and other scientific research. Darlene Lim, one of the lead NASA scientists, said, “Craters of the Moon National Monument has been a part of NASA’s research and exploration efforts since the Apollo missions and what’s so exciting is that this incredible environment is as relevant and scientifically important today as it was 50 years ago. We are here to figure out how best to support human and robotics missions to the moon, and Mars, and how to enable these future missions to make ground-breaking scientific discoveries as they explore the next frontier.”