Known for its otherworldly landscapes and scenery, it comes as no surprise that Iceland has been used for lunar training by NASA astronauts since 1965. This year, to mark the 50th anniversary of the first training exercise, a number of special events have been organized in the region, including a return to the training area for three Apollo astronauts.
As one of the youngest volcanic islands on Earth, Iceland was originally chosen as a suitable training site by NASA due to vast and barren areas of palagonite tuff, said to mimic the surface of the moon. Training exercises took part in North Iceland, near Askja in the Dyngjufjöll mountain range where astronauts practiced landing, exploration and extravehicular activities.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first training exercise, the Exploration Museum in Husavik, north Iceland is organising a number of special events, including a return to the training area on 17 July with some of the Apollo astronauts who trained in Iceland from 1965-1967.
Harrison Schmitt of Apollo 17, Rusty Schweickart of Apollo 9 and Walter Cunningham of Apollo 7, along with NASA geologist Jim Rice and the descendants of Neil Armstrong will be present for the celebrations as well as Bjarni Tryggvason, the only Icelandic born astronaut who flew on NASA's STS-85 Space Shuttle mission in 1997.
Events organised include a talk by Harrison Schmitt on July 9 at Reykjavik University, as well as a talk just for children on July 8 at Husavik Primary School. Neil Armstrong's grandchildren will also be unveiling the Astronaut Training Monument on July 15 at the Exploration Museum in Husavik where short speeches by Rusty Schweickart and Mars Rover team leader Dr. Jim Rice will also take place. All events are open to the general public, who are also encouraged to visit Askja on 17 July to meet the astronauts.
