California Museum Exhibits Splashdown

In 1969, the aircraft carrier USS Hornet recovered the first two NASA missions that landed men on the moon – Apollo 11 and Apollo 12. The ship is the largest surviving artifact from these incredible events, which are among the most important in the history of humankind.

Celebrate the 40th anniversary of man’s first steps on the moon by attending Splashdown 2009 on the USS Hornet -- the primary recovery ship for the Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 missions.

Splashdown 2009 will showcase Hornet’s role in the recovery part of the Apollo missions, as well as exhibiting other spacecraft recovery missions performed by the US Navy in support of the Mercury, Gemini, Skylab and Soyuz launches.

Visitors will see how this generation of Americans were inspired by a shared vision and how numerous organizations stretched to reach this lofty goal. The four-day festival will include opportunities for visitors to meet various representatives from NASA and the space industry including astronauts, key naval officers, recovery pilots, and former USS Hornet crew. -- www.uss-hornet.org