Apollo 11 mission to the moon to be re-created online

In this July 20, 1969, photo, the Apollo 11 lunar module rises from the moon鈥檚 surface for docking with the command module and the trip back to Earth, which can be seen rising in the background.

The John F. Kennedy Foundation will re-create online the entire Apollo 11 mission to the moon beginning today at 9:32 a.m., exactly 40 years after the launch.

A Web site created by the Richmond-based Martin Agency in Richmond will track the historic first mission to the moon from liftoff through the landing on the moon four days later.

Monday will mark the 40th anniversary of the moon landing on July 20, 1969, when astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon.

The interactive Web site was created by The Martin Agency for the foundation, a nonprofit organization that oversees the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Massachusetts.

To re-create the trip, the Shockoe Slip-based advertising agency used archived audio and video transmission from the Apollo 11 mission. People can follow the entire journey at the Web site and on Twitter.

Throughout the mission, 109 hours and 24 minutes of audio communications between the astronauts and mission control will be streamed live. About 700 updates will be sent out via Twitter. Audio transmission for the time leading up to the launch will start at 8:02 a.m. on the Web site.

Norma Kwee, an assistant producer on the project, pored through the mission's entire audio archive to pull out the 700 items to be sent out through Twitter.

The audio, she said, includes serious mission-related communications between the space capsule and mission control, as well as playful banter among the astronauts.

The site will highlight 11 pivotal moments with animated re-creations, and it will feature about 400 NASA photos and 44 videos.

"We wanted to create something that would honor [Kennedy's] vision," said Joe Alexander, the creative director on the project.

Tom Putnam, director of the John F. Kennedy Library, said it was important to use technology to commemorate the mission.

"When President Kennedy challenged the nation to land a man on the moon and return him safely to Earth before the end of the decade, his appeal led to one of the greatest technological achievements in U.S. history," Putnam said. The mission site "will use today's technology to bring [his] vision to life."

While the mission will be streamed live, it will continue on after the mission ends, allowing people to re-create it or look at specific moments.

"We hope it becomes an educational tool that can be used in classrooms," said Brian Williams, The Martin Agency's art director on the project.

(Agencies)