Posted by William Nunnelley on 2009-07-16

The Birmingham Astronomical Society will celebrate the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11's mission to the Moon in Samford University's Christenberry Planetarium Tuesday, July 21, at 7 p.m. The program is open to the public free.

Technology and science commentator Jim McDade, who has chronicled the space program and interviewed most of the astronauts who walked on the Moon, will speak. As an editor of Space.com, McDade served as an assistant to biographer James Hansen in his research on Neil Armstrong, first man on the Moon.

Armstrong walked on the Moon at 3:17 p.m. CST July 20, 1969, uttering his famous remark, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.