This post is a amazingly off-topic, however, it is very very cool, and I wanted to share this with our readers!

I remember as a little boy all of the excitement, adventure and patriotism surrounding the Apollo 11 launch and Moon Landing.  Basically, everybody stopped what they were doing and tuned in to Walter Cronkite’s live coverage of this unique space mission.  It created optimism and unity patriotism among fellow Americans and spoke to our imagination, creativity and ingenuity.  It was science-fiction coming to life, as only a few years earlier, it was only a dream. The Apollo 11 astronauts were our heroes and we watched with anticipation throughout the days that followed.

Picture below is a screenshot of the WeChooseTheMoon.org website.

In the last few years, there has been a renewed interest for Americans to reopen the history books and learn about our Moon Missions.  NASA has had many successes over the years, especially in regards to the Shuttle Program, however, from an IT perspective, I always felt that the moon missions were a cut-above all other accomplishments; to successfully put men on the moon and bring them back to Earth safely.  In my opinion, orbiting the Earth and putting mechanical devices on Mars, takes away the excitement of being there.  There is nothing like experiencing the adventure first-hand.

My all-time favorite book on the Apollo Missions is “Full Moon”, by Michael Light, which is coffee table picture book without words that showed various Apollo Missions in chronological order from take-off, landing and walking on the moon, to splashing down.  The picture quality was amazing and the detail was so great that you felt like you were there.  And then came the DVD documentary, “In the Shadow of The Moon”, which included unseen video footage and narrative from actual Apollo Missions describing what they felt and adding on the scene commentary throughout the film.  So what would be the next step closer to being there?  That is exactly what you are about to discover.  If you were born after the first mission to the moon, here is your chance to enjoy the experience and take part in one of America’s greatest achievements.

With modern-day technology, the JFK Presidential Library is “launching” a virtual “live”(virtual flashback) of the Apollo 11 Mission.  The website goes live at 9:32 am on July 16, tomorrow, which is exactly 40 years since the actual rocket launch took place.  The experience will be enhanced with audio/visual “real-time” transmissions from mission control and the crew.  There is a mission widget available to put on your desktop to track the mission, as well as the ability to receive Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or standard email updates.  The experience will be an Information Technology spectacular!

Read more at the Press Release and at the WeChooseTheMoon.org website.

Related posts:

1. Free For All: NASA for iPhone
2. Quick-Link: Psychology of Technology: 5 Smartphone Rules to Live By
3. Quick Tip: Windows Live WiFi Hotspot Locator is “live”
4. Microsoft Live Search Mobile Updated
5. On iTechGear.org – UPDATED: Will Apple Introduce a Tablet, and will you Take a Bite?