Apollo 11 Week

Few events have captured the imagination of the world like the first Moon landing on July 20, 1969. To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the historic event, here are seven people whose work made it possible.

Neil Armstrong

publication date: Saturday, July 20, 2019

category: Science

clue: One small step for this man was also one giant leap for mankind.

intended difficulty: very easy

solved by: Russ Wilhelm, Steve West, LaVonne Lemler, Samir Mehta, Chris Lemler, Richard Slominsky, Matthew Preston, and Erik Bates

Orville & Wilbur Wright

publication date: Friday, July 19, 2019

category: Aviation

clue: Without these two bicycling brothers, humans might never have left the surface of the Earth. In tribute, a chunk of wood from their greatest accomplishment was brought on board Apollo 11.

explanation: The Wright Flyer, invented by the brothers in 1903, was the first-ever successful powered aircraft. A small piece of it was brought on board the Moon landing in 1969. more…

intended difficulty: very easy

multiple: This goo was of multiple famous people. Players were required to guess all names for their answers to be correct.

solved by: Russ Wilhelm, Steve West, LaVonne Lemler, Samir Mehta, Chris Lemler, Richard Slominsky, Matthew Preston, and Erik Bates

Gene Kranz

publication date: Thursday, July 18, 2019

category: Disasters

clue: Failure wasn't an option for this mission control director on any of his Apollo missions, including 11 and 13.

explanation: Kranz was popularized by the film Apollo 13, with the fictional line "failure is not an option" attributed to him. more…

intended difficulty: easy

solved by: Russ Wilhelm, Steve West, LaVonne Lemler, Samir Mehta, Chris Lemler, Richard Slominsky, Matthew Preston, and Erik Bates

Jim Lovell

publication date: Wednesday, July 17, 2019

category: Disasters

clue: He was Apollo 11's backup commander in case of a problem, but he found a very famous problem himself as a commander two missions later.

explanation: Lovell was the commander of Apollo 13. The famous line "Houston, we have a problem" was actually said differently by someone else, but the film Apollo 13 cemented it in pop culture. more…

intended difficulty: easy

solved by: Russ Wilhelm, Steve West, LaVonne Lemler, Chris Lemler, Richard Slominsky, Matthew Preston, and Erik Bates

John F. Kennedy

publication date: Tuesday, July 16, 2019

category: Government

clue: The American space program kicked into high gear thanks to this president's belief 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."

intended difficulty: very easy

solved by: Russ Wilhelm, Steve West, LaVonne Lemler, Samir Mehta, Chris Lemler, Richard Slominsky, Matthew Preston, and Erik Bates