Instead of a cosmic rock, the newly discovered object appears to be an old rocket from a failed moon-landing mission 54 years ago that’s finally making its way back home, according to NASA's leading asteroid expert. The lander ended up crashing into the moon after one of its thrusters failed to ignite on the way there. The rocket, meanwhile, swept past the moon and into orbit around the sun as intended junk, never to be seen again — until perhaps now. A telescope in Hawaii last month discovered the mystery object heading our way while doing a search intended to protect our planet from doomsday rocks. “Asteroid hunters from around the world will continue to watch this object to get that data.

The moment Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon July 20, 1969, is frozen in time for the millions of people around the world who watched the moon landing or listened on the radio. Ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, News 6 and ClickOrlando.com put out a call asking for its viewers to share their favorite memories of that day. "I just sat there and wondered, 'Why am I here in a big ol' hole and they're landing on the moon?'" Retired space industry workers and their adult children called in to say what it meant to them to be part of the moon landing. Roseann Roach, of Brentwood, Long Island, remembered watching the moon landing with her mother.

COCOA BEACH, Fla – Four legends from the Apollo space missions gathered ahead of Tuesday night's 50th anniversary gala to reflect on what it meant to make history. Apollo 11 astronaut Mike Collins, Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke, Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart and Apollo flight director Gerry Griffin met with a small group of reporters, which included News 6 and clickorlando.com. "I never heard anybody say that I’m going to be famous next year after this," said Duke. All agreed that space travel and space exploration would be much more advanced than it is today if it weren't for the tightening of NASA's budget by Congress. They also said NASA's sights need to be bigger than just the moon -- they said they're thinking Mars.

Since the Apollo 11 moon landing; 50 years ago, when the historic landing comes up in conversation the first names that pop up are those of astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldin. Prior to Apollo 11, Collins piloted the three-day Gemini 10 mission in 1966 and became the nation's third space walker. While many people think Collins missed out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the Apollo 11 astronaut says he has no regrets. Collins said Apollo 11 could only happen if everything went according to plan. However, if it were up to the former Apollo 11 astronaut, NASA would be focused on Mars first.

“All the things we've done go back to that basic idea that something has to go first to pave the way,” NASA JPL historian Erik Conway said. Now, as NASA plans to return humans to the moon under the Artemis program it again plans to lead with robotic missions. JPL started following a similar path with robotic missions in the 1960s to pave the way for humans on Mars in the 2030s. NASA JPL Mars scientist Katie Stack Morgan on June 12, 2019 in the clean room viewing gallery above where NASA's next Mars rover is being assembled. The upgraded wheels for NASA's next Mars rover on display at NASA JPL in Pasadena, Cali.

ClickOrlando.com is proud to bring you the stories about the Apollo 11 mission and moon landing. Click here for our special coverage.

Fifty years after humans first stepped foot on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission, NASA is celebrating the historic launch of the Saturn V rocket. Neil Armstrong was the commander, Michael Collins was the command module pilot and Edwin "Buzz" Adlrin was the lunar module pilot. [PHOTO GALLERY: Minutes leading up to historic Apollo 11 launch]It was a mission years in the making, the launch itself taking only minutes to accomplish. With a successful launch into orbit, Apollo 11 paved the way for the future of space exploration. Below, you’ll find a timeline of the moments leading up to the launch, and a minute-by-minute breakdown of the iconic launch.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – Fifty years ago this July 16, Saturn V launched Apollo 11 to the moon. More than one million people gathered on the Space Coast to watch Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins lift off for the moon from Kennedy Space Center. Ahead of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing News 6 created a hotline for viewers to record their Apollo 11 memories. The historic moon landing happened eight years after President John F. Kennedy declared his vision of putting a man on the moon. Above is a photo of the Indian River, which is about 4 miles west of the Kennedy Space Center.

Fifty years later, the firing room will be led by the first woman launch director. As launch director, Blackwell-Thompson will oversee the countdown first launch of NASA’s astronaut capsule, the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System, the mission known as Artemis-1, from Kennedy Space Center launch pad 39B. Artemis-1 Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson in the firing room at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Control Center. AdMorgan, who started in 1958 as an intern with the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency, would become the first female engineer at Kennedy Space Center, but it wasn't without challenges. “If there are young people or young girls that look at NASA's female launch director, and they say, ‘You know what?

Fifty years after humans first set foot on the moon, NASA is celebrating the Apollo 11 mission. The mission had one goal: to perform a crewed landing on the moon, and return the crew to Earth. [TIMELINE: Moments leading up to historic Apollo 11 launch]A day later on July 21, 1969, millions of people turned on their televisions to watch the broadcast of Armstrong and Aldrin take the first steps on the moon. With a successful landing on the moon, the Apollo 11 crew paved the way for space exploration for generations to come. Below you’ll find a timeline depicting the moments as people first set foot on the moon.

The Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center has enough volume to fit the Empire State building and has one of the largest American flags. "The stripes are wide enough that a bus -- if it were laying down on the ground -- a bus could drive down one of its stripes," Elizabeth Kline, VAB Element operations manager said. "In the Apollo program, they would roll the mobile launcher into the VAB," Kline said. The VAB building is where rockets are put together prior to launching. "If there's fog in the morning, it will roll in and you can actually see the fog inside the building," Kline said when asked if the rumor about the VAB having its own weather is true.