Once you drive round Iceland, it's straightforward to really feel as if you happen to've landed upon the Moon. The geography of the nation is wild and rocky, a testomony to the geological exercise that continues to form our planet.
NASA apparently felt the identical manner, as a result of once they had been making ready to ship the primary astronauts to the Moon within the mid-Sixties, they determined to coach in probably the most Moon-like surroundings they may discover. They usually determined that the most extraterrestrial surroundings on Earth was simply outdoors the charming fishing village of Húsavík on the northern coast of Iceland. The location was chosen for its geological options, because the astronauts would want to deliver again lunar rock samples.
In 1965 and 1967, NASA despatched 32 astronauts to Iceland. A number of of the people who've walked on the Moon, together with Neil Armstrong, participated in coaching within the space. Whereas Iceland was not the one coaching location, even the astronauts themselves felt that the island nation's rugged panorama was the closest to what they'd finally expertise on the moon. Iceland's geography continues to be a fertile coaching floor for future area missions for varied area businesses.
Whereas Húsavík has traditionally been a fishing village, today, it has grow to be Iceland's whale-watching capital. The city additionally discovered new fame because of the 2020 film Eurovision Music Contest, starring Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams as a pair of Húsavík singers who dream of successful Eurovision. The Apollo Astronaut Coaching Monument is situated instantly throughout the road from the JaJa Ding Dong Bar and Eurovision Music Contest Museum.
The memorial consists of a plaque engraved with the names of 32 Apollo trainees suspended between two basalt columns, in addition to the US and Iceland flags, and an Apollo mission patch. There are metal globes atop the columns which symbolize the Earth and Moon. It's put in in a small discipline overlooking the city, and was unveiled on July 15, 2015, by the grandchildren of Neil Armstrong.
Örlygur Hnefill Örlygsson created the Exploration Museum in Húsavík in 2014 to commemorate the city's historic connection to the Apollo missions. The memorial was opened in relation to the museum. Along with its Apollo memorabilia, it additionally has details about the historical past of human exploration, from Vikings to polar voyages to modern-day.
