Bill Text: IL SR0277 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Declares July 20, 2019 as Apollo 11 Day in the State of Illinois.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2019-05-02 - Resolution Adopted [SR0277 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-SR0277-Introduced.html

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SR0277 LRB101 11654 MST 58791 r
SENATE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The Apollo 11 spacecraft was launched from Cape
Kennedy on July 16, 1969 and was the first manned mission to
land on the Moon; the first steps by humans on another
celestial body were taken by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on
July 20, 1969; Apollo 11 achieved its primary mission,
performing a manned lunar landing and returning safely to
Earth; and
WHEREAS, Photographs taken from lunar orbit provided broad
views for the study of regional lunar geology; the planned
sequence of activities included deployment of a Solar Wind
Composition (SWC) experiment, collection of a larger sample of
lunar material, panoramic photographs of the region near the
landing site and the lunar horizon, close-up photographs of
in-place lunar surface material, deployment of a Laser-Ranging
Retroflector (LRRR) and a Passive Seismic Experiment Package
(PSEP), and collection of two core-tube samples of the lunar
surface; the astronauts returned to Earth with the first
samples from another planetary body; and
WHEREAS, The Apollo 11 mission carried to the moon American
flags, the flags of the 50 states, including Illinois, and the
District of Columbia, the flags of the U.S. Territories, the
United Nations, and other nations; a plaque with the signatures

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of President Richard Nixon, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins,
and Buzz Aldrin was affixed to the leg of the lunar landing;
the plaque bears two images of the Earth and the inscription,
"Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon
July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind"; and
WHEREAS, On July 20, 1969, Commander Neil Armstrong and
Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon while Command
Module Pilot Michael Collins orbited above them; Commander
Armstrong was the first to walk on the surface of the moon, and
when he took his first footstep, he declared that it was "one
small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind", a famous
line that has inspired many and has passed into history; and
WHEREAS, The lunar landing program was the culmination of
decades of work by hundreds of thousands of people working
across dozens of science, technology, and engineering
disciplines; it has been estimated that over 400,000 engineers,
scientists, and technicians contributed to the moon landing
mission; and
WHEREAS, In 1973, the total cost of the Apollo program
reported to Congress was $25.4 billion, approximately $183
billion in today's terms, which was paid for by American
taxpayers; and

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WHEREAS, Apollo 11 paved the way for the Apollo lunar
landing missions to follow; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare July 20,
2019 Apollo 11 Day in the State of Illinois to commemorate the
50 year anniversary of the United States' first manned lunar
landing and return.