In preparation for the 50th anniversary next year of putting man on the moon, NASA is in the middle of restoring its historic Mission Operations Control Room.
The first group of the restored Historic Mission Control consoles will be unveiled to reporters on Thursday, Nov. 8 at Ellington Field in Houston. The control room was used during the Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle eras ,
NASA said it had been in acute need of restoration. The work included furnishings such as carpeting, tile, paperwork, even coffee cups and ashtrays in the room. They’re being collected and restored to recreate the appearance of an active Mission Control room during the Apollo era.
NASA said when completed, the room will accurately portray how the area looked the moment the first Moon landing occurred July 20, 1969.
The restored Historic Mission Control will be unveiled to the world in time for the Apollo 11 mission’s 50th anniversary and the city of Houston will host a month-long “Defying Gravity” celebration, including a ribbon-cutting for the restored Mission Control room.
The restoration of the National Historic Landmark began in July 2017 and is coordinated by NASA Johnson Space Center with funds raised by the nonprofit Space Center Houston, the Official Visitor Center of Johnson Space Center. The Cosmosphere has been hired to restore nearly two dozen consoles.
The non-profit led a 30-day funding campaign drawing more than 4,000 pledges from 15 countries including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany. The city of Webster, a longtime supporter of Space Center Houston, matched gifts dollar-for-dollar up to $400,000. Webster gave the lead gift of $3.5 million toward the $5 million “On a Mission” campaign.
