FUN WITH MAPS ISSUE 2026-123

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (July 16, 2026) – This edition of Fun with Maps traces the launch of Apollo 11 on the way to that giant leap for mankind – landing on the moon.

Not Quite Infinity and Beyond

Apollo 11 launched from the Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969.

We all know what followed – the historic manned landing on the moon – “the Eagle has Landed” and the first human to set foot on the moon on July 20th, Neil Armstrong.   The crew then returned to Earth safely, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii.

When President Kennedy challenged to land on the moon by the end of the decade, it seemed an unreachable task.

The two people I’d single out making the difference and contributing the most to the achievement is Wernher von Braun and Neil Armstrang.

Von Braun, a German who came to the US side at the end of World War II, deigned the Saturn V rocket.  This immense three-stage wonder was the most powerful machine ever designed up to that point.  When it took off, the earth shook and that was felt for many miles.

Armstrong faced a crisis before landing on the Moon.  The landing computer shutdown and the Eagle was not where he expected it to be.  So, he manually maneuvered the craft to a flat area and landed with just a few seconds of fuel remaining.

This map of the moon is by Stieler from 1877.

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps. Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Fun with Maps here on Loveland Beacon.