/ 5:25 a.m. CT (1125 GMT)
 
Crew Dragon docks: For the first time in six years, a new type of spacecraft is connected to the International Space Station. SpaceX's Crew Dragon achieved its first docking at the orbiting lab on Sunday (March 3), a day after lifting off from Earth. The autonomous approach was one of the major objectives of the Crew Dragon's Demo-1 mission to show it is ready to begin flying with NASA astronauts.
/ 12:25 a.m. CT (0625 GMT)
SpaceX boosts Earth: SpaceX's launch of a plush personified planet aboard its first Crew Dragon gave an unexpected boost to the toy doll's creator. Celestial Buddies did not know its Planetary Pal Earth was going to be used as the zero-g indicator for the space station-bound capsule until after the spacecraft lifted off and orders began pouring in. The "little Earth," as astronaut Anne McClain referred to it, sold out within hours of the stuffed toy reaching orbit.
/ 7:55 a.m. CT (1355 GMT)
Crew Dragon splashdown: Fifty years (less five days) since the last time a spacecraft set down in the Atlantic Ocean, SpaceX's Demo 1 Crew Dragon landed from the International Space Station off of Florida's coast on Friday (March 8). The splashdown followed a 6-day uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station to demonstrate that the Crew Dragon could rendezvous, dock, undock and then return safely prior to it doing the same with astronauts.
/ 6:15 p.m. CT (2315 GMT)
Apollo samples unsealed: Almost 50 years after Apollo astronauts vacuum-packed them on the moon, lunar soil and rock samples will be unsealed for study. Nine laboratory teams have been picked by NASA to apply modern technology and science techniques to learn more about the history of the moon. NASA's decision to open the Apollo 15 and Apollo 17 samples was made with the expectation that new missions will return more material in the near future.
/ 1:15 a.m. CT (0615 GMT)
Apollo 11 50th Speedmaster: In celebration of the Speedmaster becoming the first watch worn on the moon, Omega presented a gold edition of the timepiece to each of the Apollo astronauts in 1969. Now, half a century later, Omega has modeled its Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Limited Edition Speedmaster after that original gold chronograph.
/ 7:00 a.m. CT (1200 GMT)
ApolloPressKits.com: A marketing and PR strategist with a passion for the history of the Apollo moon landings, David Meerman Scott has debuted ApolloPressKits.com, a website representing 15 years of collecting. The new archive provides free access to more than 40 of the media primers to the July 1969 Apollo 11 mission, including press kits issued by NASA, IBM, TWA Airlines and Stouffer's.
/ 2:35 p.m. CT (1935 GMT)
Soyuz MS-12 launch: Nick Hague, Christina Koch and Aleksey Ovchinin launched for the International Space Station Thursday (March 14), completing a flight cut short for Ovchinin and Hague by an aborted launch five months ago. The Soyuz MS-12 crew members will conduct science and spacewalks while serving as part of the space station's Expedition 59 and 60 crews over the next six months.
/ 5:35 p.m. CT (2235 GMT)
Tiziou's 'space junk': If you had the chance to meet space journalist Jacques Tiziou, you might have walked away with a "bit" of space history. Tiziou's "space bits," small fragments of spacecraft and flown pieces, were his way of sharing his passion for all things space, but were just the tip of his collection. Now, two years after his death, his son is offering some of Tiziou's "space junk" in return for help in creating a memorial and new home for Tiziou's archives.
/ 12:30 a.m. CT (0530 GMT)
Apollo in the Armstrong Archives: Purdue University has opened an exhibition charting Neil Armstrong's path to the moon, using the late astronaut's documents and artifacts held by the school's special collections. "Apollo in the Archives: Selections from the Neil A Armstrong Papers" offers the public a glimpse at the extensive archive donated by the first moonwalker and his estate. The display is timed with Apollo 11's 50th anniversary and Purdue's 150th year.
/ 12:00 a.m. CT (0500 GMT)
Moon Landing lighter: Zippo's Collectible of the Year for 2019 is a tribute to the Apollo 11 moon landing's 50th anniversary. The limited edition lighter features a tactile lunar surface, a color Earth and a laser-engraved image of an Apollo astronaut. The Moon Landing lighter is the latest of 50 years of Zippos that celebrate the Apollo 11 mission.
/ 12:30 a.m. CT (0530 GMT)
First Moon Landing stamps: Photos taken on and of the moon will be featured on a pair of United States postage stamps celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first lunar landing mission. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) on Wednesday (March 20) revealed the two designs, including one that uses an iconic Apollo 11 image and a second that focused on the location of Tranquility Base on the moon.
/ 10:25 a.m. CT (1525 GMT)
'S.S. Roger Chaffee': Northrop Grumman is preparing to launch its 11th cargo ship to the International Space Station in April, and as a part of that has christened the resupply craft. The company has named the NG-11 Cygnus capsule the S.S. Roger Chaffee in memory of the Apollo 1 astronaut. Chaffee made the ultimate sacrifice in pursuit of NASA's efforts toward the first moon landing 50 years ago.
/ 12:00 a.m. CT (0500 GMT)
LM-9 lands: NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex has lowered Lunar Module 9 (LM-9) from its overhead display as part of a reimagining of the Apollo/Saturn V Center. A remnant of a replanned Apollo mission, LM-9 was relocated to the ground as other changes to the center were underway for the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11.
/ 4:15 p.m. CT (2115 GMT)
To the moon within 5 years: Vice President Mike Pence, addressing the National Space Council on Tuesday (March 26), set the goal of returning astronauts to the moon's surface within the next five years. The landing, which Pence called America's "next giant leap," will be targeted at the moon's south pole and will accomplished using NASA's Space Launch System or "by any means necessary."
/ 7:30 p.m. CT (0030 GMT March 28)
Valery Bykovsky, 1934-2019: Selected with the Soviet Union's first group of cosmonauts, Valery Bykovsky became the fifth Russian to fly into space in 1963, on the first of his three missions. He died Wednesday (March 27) at the age of 84. Bykovsky set the still-standing record for the longest solo spaceflight on Vostok 5, a mission flown jointly with the first woman in space. He later led two Soyuz flights after training for a possible circumlunar mission.
/ 3:00 p.m. CT (2000 GMT)
50 Years from Tranquility Base: Nearly two dozen Apollo 11 artifacts comprise "50 Years from Tranquility Base," the new exhibit at the National Air and Space Museum celebrating the first moon landing. Among the items are several artifacts returned to Earth by Neil Armstrong, which were only discovered after his death. The display case also shows objects from the former "Apollo to the Moon" gallery.
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