‘Apollo: When We Went the Moon’ exhibit lands at NYC’s Intrepid Museum

Given it was navy ships that recovered the Apollo crews and spacecraft after splashing down from the moon, it is appropriate that the largest temporary exhibit ever hosted by the Intrepid — a converted aircraft carrier — is themed to the first lunar landings.

The museum, which since 1982 has been docked on the west side of Manhattan, has landed “Apollo: When We Went to the Moon,” a sprawling display that “highlights the remarkable history of humanity’s voyage beyond our home planet and the extraordinary individuals who made it happen.” And though the USS Intrepid was not involved in the Apollo recoveries (it brought home the second orbital crewed Mercury and first piloted Gemini capsules), it has since become a world-class sea, air and space museum and home of NASA’s prototype space shuttle orbiter.

“‘Apollo’ deeply focuses on how humans persevered to get to the moon and space in general,” said Kate Good, space curator at the Intrepid Museum, in an interview with collectSPACE.com. “The content has the underlying theme of the space race woven into it, with the feeling of monumental urgency to be first in everything. That intensity and sustained determination spurred the U.S. to continue developing groundbreaking technologies.”

“All of these themes are consistent from the beginnings of projects Mercury, Gemini and Apollo, which brought us to the space shuttle era, and includes the museum’s beloved shuttle Enterprise,” said Good. “Visitors have the opportunity to learn about the people, politics and STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] advancements that made, and continue to make, the U.S. space program stronger and more successful than ever.”

Developed by the education and curatorial staff at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama and Flying Fish, a traveling exhibition company, “Apollo” uses photographs and artifacts from the rocket center’s archives, as well as interactive experiences, to illustrate the motivations that drove the United States and former Soviet Union to “sacrifice man and machine in order to be the first on the moon.”

Visitors are greeted by the sights and sounds of the 1960s space race as they enter “Apollo,” which spans 9,000 square feet (840 square meters) in the Intrepid’s space shuttle pavilion. As they walk under Enterprise and through the exhibition, guests learn about the advances in technology that made the moon landings possible and the cultural and political climates that affected the outcome….