Rare Photos Of Apollo Astronauts Training In Hawaii 40 Years Ago

On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 landed on the moon. But how did NASA train the astronauts for this mission? By vacationing in Hawaii, apparently.

Because the Big Island’s volcanic terrain has an uncanny resemblance to the terrain on the Moon, the isle made for an ideal training ground for Apollo crews.

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Last December, Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES) Executive Director Rob Kelso searched through the photo archives at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and found these images. NASA digitized the images and sent them to PISCES earlier this year. Now, for the first time, the public can see the little-known role Hawaii played in the Apollo program of the early 1970s.

Rare Photos Of Apollo Astronauts Training In Hawaii 40 Years Ago