Chris Kraft developed NASA's Mission Control system and was a key figure in the Apollo program. NASA described his "legendary" work as critical to advancing crewed space flight.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/D. J. Phillip
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NASA's first flight director Chris Kraft, who created the Mission Control system that helped to send humans into space, died on Monday, the space agency has said.
NASA made the announcement of the 95-year-old's death just days after space fans on Saturday celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission that put humans on the Moon.
"Chris was one of the core team members that helped our nation put humans in space and on the Moon, and his legacy is immeasurable," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement.
Born Christopher Columbus Kraft on February 28, 1924, the US engineer joined the NASA Space Task Group in 1958 as the first flight director.
In that role, he invented the mission planning and control processes required for crewed space missions, including space-to-ground communications, space tracking and crew recovery.
During the Apollo program, he was responsible for human spaceflight mission planning, training and execution at the Manned Spacecraft Center. He retired in 1982.
Events marking the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing on Saturday came as NASA is preparing for new missions to the lunar surface and eventually Mars.
World marks 50 years since the Apollo 11 moon landing
With parties, speeches and artistic displays, the world has marked the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission which brought men to the lunar surface. NASA showcased its new spacecraft for future flights to the moon.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Harnik
Monument to Apollo 11
Americans showed their pride over the 1969 moon landing with events across the country. The Washington Monument, a 169-meter (555 feet) pillar of marble in the US capital, was turned into a display with images of the lunar mission and a moving projection of the 111-meter Saturn V rocket, which took the Apollo 11 astronauts to the moon.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Harnik
Footsteps of giants
US Vice President Mike Pence (left) praised the Apollo 11 team as "heroes" at a celebration at the US spaceport Cape Canaveral. Half a century ago, a team consisting of pilot Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin (right) and Neil Armstrong took off from the US base to reach Earth's natural satellite. Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon, died in 2012.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AP Photo/J. Raoux
Catching some sun
This picture, taken by Armstrong, shows Aldrin planting a long sheet of foil designed to capture material radiated by the sun. The two men stayed on the lunar surface for a little over 2 1/2 hours. On Saturday, NASA replayed the original broadcast of the landing seen by half a billion people in 1969.
Image: NASA
Watching 'The Dish' from Down Under
Australians also marked the Apollo 11 anniversary by gathering around the Parkes Radio Telescope for a screening of the 2000 film "The Dish." The movie tells the story of Australians and NASA employees working together and using the Parkes telescope to support the moon landing. Parkes was one of three tracking stations around the world tasked with beaming live pictures of the event.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMAPRESS/C. Khoury
Labyrinthine tribute
In Wistow, Leicestershire, east of Birmingham, the owners of an 8-acre maze that attracts more than 25,000 visitors every summer chose to mark the 50th anniversary of the moon landing with a design depicting an astronaut.
Image: picture-alliance/empics/J. Giddens
Putting people on the moon
Further south in London, the city marked the jubilee by showing a mosaic image of the moon at Piccadilly Circus at the moment of the 1969 touchdown. British artist Helen Marshall created the image out of thousands of photos sent by members of the public. The mosaic was projected simultaneously in London, New York and Singapore.
Image: picture-alliance/empics/Yui Mok
A view of home
In Shanghai, an artistic installation by UK artist Luke Jerram shows a high-definition image of the Earth taken in 1972. When people view the installation from 211 meters (about 700 feet) away, it would be exactly the same as the view from the moon in 1969. To make the experience more vivid, there are over 1,000 square meters of simulated moon land, where visitors can leave their footprints.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/Jiang Xiaowei
Going to Mars via the moon
NASA plans to send new astronauts to the moon by 2024 with its Artemis program, named after the goddess and twin sister of Apollo in Greek mythology. The program is set to include a platform that would orbit the moon, called Gateway, with astronauts traveling in the Orion crew capsule (pictured). The ultimate goal, however, is much further away: a journey to Mars.
Image: Imago Images/ZumaPress/B. Smegelsky
Space flight doesn't stop
While the Apollo 11 veterans attended the celebrations in the US, a team of astronauts took off for the International Space Station (ISS) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The team includes American Andrew Morgan, Russian Alexander Skvortsov, and Italian Luca Parmitano. The trio modeled their mission patches after the ones used by the famous 1969 team.
