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Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771

ENGINEERING COLLOQUIUM

Monday, October 3, 2016 / 3:30 PM, Building 3 Auditorium

Photo of Buzz Aldrin and US flag on the Moon

Jack Clemons "Flags on the Moon"

ABSTRACT -- Jack Clemons will present "Flags on the Moon," an informative, entertaining, and sometimes surprising look at the history behind each of the six American flags placed on the Moon by the Apollo astronauts, and the engineering resourcefulness that made them possible.

July 20, 2016 marked the 47th anniversary of the moment when Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped out onto the lunar surface and became the first American astronaut, and the first human being, to set foot on another world. Apollo 11 was the first of six Apollo spacecraft to land on the Moon. A total of 12 men walked and, beginning with Apollo 15, also rode on her surface. And beyond the exploration and the sightseeing, and the scientific experiments they carried out, each Apollo crew also planted an American flag at their landing site. The flags are still there, perpetual monuments to the imagination and resourcefulness and determination of the human spirit. Each of those flags has a story to tell.

Jack Clemons' talk will include historic film clips, photographs, illustrations and anecdotes, as well as insights drawn from his own experiences as a young engineer working on NASA’s Apollo Moon Program. 

SPEAKER -- Jack Clemons was most recently Senior Vice President of Engineering for Lockheed Martin, where he led a team that redesigned the air traffic control systems for the United States and the United Kingdom. He has bachelor’s and master's degrees in aerospace engineering, and earlier in his career he was an industry engineer and team leader on NASA's Apollo and Space Shuttle Programs in Houston, Texas. He supported all of the Apollo Moon Missions, including both Apollo 11 and Apollo 13. He also appeared in the "Command Module" segment of Moon Machines, the Discovery Science Channel's award winning six-part documentary about the Apollo Program. He is an engineering and management consultant and a freelance writer and public speaker.


Engineering Colloquium home page: https://ecolloq.gsfc.nasa.gov