Explorers Club Annual Dinner To Celebrate 50th Anniversary Of Astronauts Walking On The Moon

The New York City Gala will be the largest gathering of the legendary space adventurers

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Mar 11, 2019, 15:44 ET

NEW YORK, March 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- As the 50th anniversary (July 20) of historic Apollo 11 lunar landing fast approaches, The Explorers Club's 115^th Annual Dinner will host all remaining Apollo astronauts and engineers who made the once unimaginable moon-landing a reality.

The Apollo team will join over 1,500 of the world's greatest explorers, scientists and researchers at the annual dinner, taking place at Marriott Marquis on Times Square, New York, on Saturday, March 16, 2019.

The list of celebrated NASA alumni includes:

Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 Astronaut
Michael Collins, Apollo 11 Astronaut
Walt Cunningham, Apollo 7 Astronaut
Charlie Duke, Apollo 16 Astronaut
Fred Haise, Apollo 13 Engineer
Harrison Schmitt, Apollo 17 Astronaut
Rusty Schweickart, Apollo 9 Astronaut
Tom Stafford, Apollo 10 Astronaut
Al Worden, Apollo 15 Astronaut

"We are honored to have these heroes of space exploration join us at the Dinner," said Richard Wiese, President of The Explorers Club. "These astronauts and scientists have left a lasting impression on our community and the world, and continue to inspire the next generation of explorers."

The audience at dinner will also include Shuttle astronauts (and Explorers Club members) including Kathryn Sullivan (first American woman to walk in space), Mike Massimino, Dave Williams, and Terry Virts, among many others associated with both publicly- and privately-funded space travel.

These space pioneers will be honored with this year's Explorers Club Awardees – a group of inspirational researchers and explorers who, like the Apollo astronauts, have dedicated their careers and lives to advancing the understanding in their own respective fields. This includes:

Kenneth Lacovara, Ph.D. who has unearthed some of the largest dinosaurs in existence, including the super-massive Dreadnoughtus, will be awarded this year's Explorers Club Medal. The Dean of the School of Earth & Environment at Rowan University has blended exploration in remote locations with advance imaging and modeling techniques to understand these prehistoric creatures.
Michael Eliot Barth will receive this year's Citation of Merit for his leadership of the Roy Chapman Andrews (RCA) Centennial Expedition to the Gobi Desert. His team is credited as being the first to apply specific NASA imaging and mapping technologies to the work of paleontological fossil prospecting.

Also being honored by The Explorers Club: Dr. James B. McClintock winner of the Finn Ronne Memorial Award for his research on marine invertebrate and the impacts of climate change and acidification on these species, and Milbry C. Polk winner of the Sweeney Medal for her commitment to women in science and discovery as Executive Director of Wings WorldQuest,

The New Explorer Award will be given to Ian R. Mangiardi a Wilderness-EMT who founded The Dusty Camel, a non-profit organization that consults on expedition planning at all levels.

The Explorers Club was founded in New York City in 1904. It is a multidisciplinary, not for profit (501c-3) organization dedicated to scientific exploration of the oceans; land; the air; and space by supporting research and education in the physical, natural and biological sciences. The Club's members have been responsible for an illustrious series of famous firsts: first to the North Pole, first to the South Pole, first to the summit of Mount Everest, first to the deepest point in the ocean, and first to the surface of the moon. With over 3,000 members worldwide, the organization has its headquarters at 46 East 70th Street, New York, N.Y. 10021.
Tel. (212) 628-8383; www.explorers.org.

SOURCE The Explorers Club