NCM’s New Exhibit Blasts Off In January

The NCM’s “From Gas Station to Space Station” Features Corvettes Owned by Some of America’s Greatest Heroes!

On July 20, 1969, the world watched in spell-bound silence as Neil Armstrong, Commander of the Apollo II, stepped off the ladder of the Lunar Module and became the first human being to step foot on the surface of the moon.  This moment, which was the culmination of more than a decades worth of work by thousands of scientists and engineers at NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration), marked the pinnacle of human achievement in space.  As an emotional Armstrong stepped off the ladder and down onto the Lunar surface, he spoke the immortal words that would define an era –

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing.  To help commemorate the anniversary of this epic achievement, the National Corvette Museum, in conjunction with NASA and the Marshall Space Flight Center, have assembled a new exhibit titled “From Gas Station to Space Station: How NASA Conquered Low-Earth Orbit.”  The exhibit features several Corvettes that were owned by some of the legendary astronauts that helped defined an era.  The cars are there to remind and inspire us to recognize that these earlier space pioneers are no different from any of us – with the exception that they dared to dream bigger and, more importantly, reached farther that many would dare to achieve those dreams.  Ultimately, the exhibit helps remind us that no goal is out of reach.

NCM Curator, Derek E. Moore, is looking forward to sharing the stories of the astronauts with visitors to the Museum. “This exhibit shows where we’ve gone since going to the moon and tells the story of where that transformative moment in history has led us,” Derek says. “We’ll be looking at some stories about how one becomes an astronaut and look into how we landed on the moon, and how that is leading us into the future.”