Image courtesy of NASA.

Monday is the 40th anniversary of the Moon landing, and you can listen "live" online, or here in Rhode Island, you can check out some of the stuff the astronauts brought back.

If you point your browswer to WeChooseTheMoon.org, you can follow the actual recorded audio from Apollo 11 in real time (sounds like they're asleep right now; it gets seriously interesting on Monday.)

Here in RI, Secretary of State Ralph Mollis is marking the 40th anniversary by inviting the public to view a collection of moon rocks and a small state flag that the Apollo 11 astronauts brought home from their voyage.

“Our curiosity about the moon is a journey that is tens of thousands of years and hundreds of thousands of miles long,” said Mollis in a statement. “I hope exposure to history like this will inspire Rhode Islanders and remind them of the remarkable achievements we are capable of when faced with challenges.”

The artifacts are on display in the State Library on the second floor of the State House weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. You should be aware that our state's moon rocks are, well, "Rhode Island"-sized (about 2 mm long). But hey, people, they came from the MOON. Check 'em out.

It's hard to remember now what it felt like to have a space program with a sense of purpose. Or even to believe that things had higher purposes (and yes, I'm aware that the space program was, on some level, a military and economic gauntlet to the Soviets.) But anyone who was watching, live, as the first images came in from the Moon, upside down, in black and white, remembers it with a profound pride that transcends nationality. We did that. You can look up at night and say, "We humans walked on the surface of that thing in the sky." I think we can all use a little bit of that pride and sense of possibility right about now.

Resources:
NASA image gallery search for Apollo 11 landing