Apollo 11 astronauts immortalized in new statue at Kennedy Space Center ahead of 50th anniversary

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. (FOX 35 ORLANDO) - New exhibits are on display at the reimagined Apollo Saturn V Center at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch.

A new, one-of-a-kind moon tree garden now greets visitors outside the Apollo Saturn V Center. It features 12 trees grown from seeds that orbited the moon on Apollo 14.

“Every tree represents the hardships, the sacrifices, thee successes and the greatness of the Apollo program,” said Rosemary Roosa, CEO of the Moon Tree Foundation.

She said the seeds traveled 240,000 miles to the moon and back with her father, astronaut Stuart Roosa.

There is also a new sculpture called, “The Eagle Has Landed.” It depicts Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins in their spacesuits. Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans gifted the statue to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

Starting Monday, visitors can get a closer look at Lunar Module 9, the type of vehicle that would have taken the first astronauts to the moon.

“It’s a spare, original, lunar lander and we created a lunar lander scene here of Apollo 11,” said Mark Smith, a communicator who works at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. “We got a depiction of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon with the American flag.”

Visitors can also get a look inside the command and service module where astronauts lived when they traveled to the moon. There is also a new projection showing the iconic video of the moon landing on the Saturn V, the type of rocket that carried astronauts to space on July 16, 1969.

The center also features a 1969-styled living room to help recreate the magic from that historic day.