Apollo 11 Space Capsule

Photos courtesy of NASA.

NASA Astronaut Training

Meteor Crater has deep ties to NASA and its long history of space exploration. In the 1960s, NASA astronauts preparing for the first moon landing worked and explored the crater’s unique and rugged terrain to help them train for what they could expect in space. The Meteor Crater is one of the few places on earth that is an exposed, and still fully intact, meteorite impact site that would emulate the surface of the moon.

The Apollo Training Command Module

Part of the showcase of our over 50-year relationship with NASA includes one of the Apollo 11 space capsules used for training on display outside the Discovery Center. Before Neil Armstrong made that giant leap with his famous moonwalk on July 20, 1969, the three Apollo 11 astronauts — Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins, took smaller steps for mankind, using Meteor Crater as their key training site. Get up close and personal with the test capsule, and see what it would be like as an astronaut!

Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the First Moon Landing

The Lunar Legacy Experience celebrates the scientific role that Meteor Crater and other historic Flagstaff sites contributed to the Apollo Missions. Visit the official website to learn more.