First group of restored Historic Mission Control consoles unveiled

(FOX 26) - The first group of restored Historic Mission Control consoles, which helped human's land on the moon, are back in Houston.

NASA's Super Guppy carried the consoles from the Cosmosphere space museum in Kansas to Ellington Airport. Alumni of NASA Johnson Space Center's Apollo program and leadership of Johnson Space Center and Space Center Houston were at Ellington Airport when the newly restored consoles were unveiled.

The restoration of the consoles is part of a campaign by NASA Johnson Space Center and Space Center Houston to restore the Historic Mission Control before the Apollo 11 mission's 50th anniversary.

“We want to keep the legacy of the Apollo-era alive and preserve Historic Mission Control,” said Space Center Houston president and CEO William T. Harris. “Thanks to the combined efforts of so many people, future generations can experience this iconic room exactly as it was when Neil Armstrong made his historic first steps on the Moon.”

NASA's historic Mission Operations Control Room was used during the Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle eras. The restoration began in July 2017. The Cosmosphere will restore nearly two dozen consoles. When completed, Space Center Houston says the control room will accurately portray how the historic Mission Operations Control Room looked the moment of the first Moon landing on July 20, 1969.

The project is being coordinated by NASA Johnson Space Center with funds raise by Space Center Houston. For information on the project and how to help, click here.