Imagining NASA’s Home Page, July 20, 1969

Neither NASA nor anyone else had a home page in 1969. Back then, what would become the Internet was one connection between two universities, which crashed the first time someone tried to use it. No one had any idea we’d one day use it to swap photos, summon rides and LOL at each other.

Consider this a little thought experiment. What would NASA’s home page have looked like 50 years ago? It would have focused on the Moon landing, of course, but with a style that reflected the changing artistic (and other) standards of the day. It’s worth noting that even back then NASA was too rambunctious to focus on only one thing: just as Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins were headed to the Moon, Mariner VI was sending back the first TV images of Mars.

Rest assured, though, that when Artemis returns astronauts to the Moon in 2024, NASA.gov will have the photos, livestreams and . . . augmented reality backgrounds to download to your home holographic projector, perhaps?

Read our Apollo 11 50th Anniversary feature.