Almost 50 years later, Flagstaff’s lunar legacy lives on | Local | azdailysun.com

When it comes to issues of outer space, there’s no question that Flagstaff is a Pluto town, through and through. But for the next year or so, the city’s astronomical focus will shift gears to center on the moon.

Exactly one year from today marks the 50th anniversary of the first time humans walked on that distant world, and Flagstaff played an integral role in their preparations for the history-defining mission.

From 1961 to 1972, the Apollo teams used northern Arizona’s almost otherworldly terrain — from Meteor Crater to the Grand Canyon — to test prototypes of lunar rovers and learn about geologic features astronauts may find on the moon. The trainees peered through telescopes at Lowell Observatory, the U.S. Naval Observatory and Northern Arizona University to study their faraway destination.