In this episode of Vatican Unseen we remember the arrival of man on the moon from the Vatican Observatory.
The Vatican Observatory is an astronomical research and educational institution supported by the Holy See. Originally based in the Roman College of Rome, the Observatory is now headquartered in Castel Gandandolfo, Italy and operates a telescope at the Mount Graham International Observatory in the United States.
Sixty years ago, Pope Paul VI visited the Vatican Observatory for the first time. In 1969, he watched live as the first man landed on the moon. And the Observatory, also known as Specola, was created for a specific purpose.
And it is precisely science, specifically technology, that has made it possible to visit from anywhere in the world the room with the telescope through which Pope Paul VI saw Apollo 11 land.
A large team of researchers and engineers monitored Apollo 11's entire operation from Earth. Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin were forever marked in history books as the first to live the adventure.
Franco Malerba says being in space allows one to live out the pages of the atlases and the greatness of Creation.
Exploring the galaxy is something truly extraordinary. Few have the opportunity to see the planet Earth from that vast perspective, when its magnitude allows one's mind to see things from another point of view.
If you want to know more about the Vatican from the inside , don't forget to check out the first three episodes:
01. Discovering the Sistine Chapel
02. A Library with more than 5 centuries of Story
04. Papal Documents and Seals
