FLORIDA, US
DM
Explorers have recovered Apollo 11 engines from the Atlantic Ocean floor.
First recovered in March, experts have now confirmed the rocket engines recovered from three miles below the ocean surface by Bezos Expeditions are Saturn V first stage F-1’s used by the rocket that put the first men on the moon.
The announcement came one day before the 44th anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s historic first steps on the lunar surface.
The confirmation was made by conservators from the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, who confirmed the engines’ origin by scanning their surface with black lights designed to notice even the smallest markings.
They were able to discern the serial number ‘2044’ stenciled on the side of one of the thrust chambers, according to Jeff Bezos.
‘2044 is the Rocketdyne serial number that correlates to NASA number 6044, which is the serial number for F-1 Engine #5 from Apollo 11,’ Bezos explained.
Further sleuthing led the team to find ‘Unit No 2044’ stamped into the base of the thrust chamber, wrote Bezos, providing additional confirmation.
The recovery was made using highly advanced Remotely Operated Vehicles designed to withstand the immense pressures brought by the extreme depths at which the engines were found. They were tethered to a vessel on the surface via fiber-optic cables used to transmit data and power, according to Bezos.