A year ago today, the countdown for the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo lunar mission began at the San Diego Comic Convention, where comics, movie, and science fiction fans come together. The content included Astronaut Snoopy and a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)-based curriculum about America’s latest explorations into space, offering interactive ways for people of all ages to celebrate NASA’s historic Moon mission.
Before the event, NASA and Peanuts Worldwide announced the signing of a Space Act Agreement designed to inspire a passion for STEM and space exploration in a new generation.
During the Apollo missions of the 1960s, Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz gave NASA permission to use Snoopy in the Agency’s spaceflight safety materials. Comic-Con International: San Diego began in 1970 with the first comic book convention in southern California.
“My father once told me that when NASA selected his characters, Charlie Brown and Snoopy, to be the names chosen for the modules for the Apollo 10 mission on its trip to the Moon, that it was the proudest moment in his career,” said Craig Schulz, producer of Fox’s The Peanuts Movie in 2015. “He was honored then, and I am honored today as we renew the historic relationship between NASA and Peanuts.”
In 1968, NASA introduced the Silver Snoopy award, a special honor given to NASA employees and contractors for outstanding achievements related to safety or mission success in human spaceflight.
The partnership reached new heights in 1969, when NASA sent Peanuts into space, naming the Apollo 10 command and lunar modules “Charlie Brown” and “Snoopy.”
“My husband, Charles Schulz, fully embraced a collaboration with NASA for Snoopy and he was inspired to create a series of original comic strips detailing Snoopy’s fantastical journeys through space. Those strips remain among the most popular ones in circulation today,” said Jeannie Schulz, widow of Charles M. Schulz.
Click here for more on Comic-Con 2019 at the San Diego Convention Center.
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