# 2841a - 1994 29c Moon Landing, single stamp

U.S. #2841a
1994 25^th Anniversary of the First Moon Landing (Single)

• Honors the 25^th anniversary of Apollo 11’s successful landing on the Moon
• Originally, the $9.95 Express Mail stamp was the only one going to commemorate the Moon Landing, but when many voices complained about how expensive it would be, Stamp Services decided to issue a 29¢ stamp as well so people far and wide could buy and enjoy it

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Value:  29¢
First Day of Issue:  July 20, 1994
First Day City:  Washington, DC
Quantity Issued:  155,496,000
Printed by:  Printed for Stamp Venturers by J.W. Fergusson and Sons, processed and shipped at KCS Industries
Printing Method:  Photogravure (Champlain webfed gravure press)
Format:  Panes of 12 (Vertical 4 across, 3 down)
Perforations:  11.1 (sheetfed stroke perforator)
Tagging:  Stamps are individually block tagged

Why the stamp was issued:  To commemorate the 25^th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing.

About the stamp design:  Pictures artwork by father-and-son team Paul and Christopher Calle, the same artists that designed the Apollo 11 Express Mail stamp.  It pictures a single astronaut – the one in the foreground of the Express Mail stamp – saluting the flag he’s holding.  The position of the Earth was adjusted to be over the astronaut’s head instead of over his shoulder, and only a portion of the US flag is visible.

Special design details:  A mistake by NASA caused the Calles to use a space suit that wasn’t from the Apollo 11 mission on the Express Mail stamp, meaning they had to make changes to their painting at the last minute.  The same change had to be made to this stamp.  There was also some disagreement over the space (or lack thereof) between the American Flag and the pole.  After consulting NASA photographs of the flag on the Moon, some images showed the flag touching the pole, while others showed a gap between the fabric and the pole.  Regardless, the USPS ended up asking the printer (Stamp Venturers) “close the gap” between the flag and the pole electronically.

First Day City:  This stamp, along with the Express Mail stamp, had its’ First Day of Issue Ceremony in Washington, DC, at the Air and Space Museum.  Apollo 11 astronaut, Buzz Aldrin, made a surprise appearance to help unveil the stamp.

History the stamps represent:  In 57, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first artificial Earth satellite, and the space race had begun.  Within a year, the US had developed NASA.  The new National Aeronautics and Space Administration quickly assembled the first astronaut corps and began training to prepare them to pilot rockets into space.

Despite the efforts of what became known as Project Mercury, it was Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin who became the first man in space on April 12, 1961, causing President Kennedy to call for a major acceleration of the American space program.  On May 5^th, US astronaut Alan Shepherd’s space flight set the stage for Kennedy’s address to Congress in which he stated, “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth.”

His challenge launched a period of new growth for NASA and on July 20, 1969, America’s long-time dream became history when the Eagle landed and Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon, delivering the memorable quote, “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”  As a tribute to this occasion, the Postal Service issued two stamps designed by the father and son team of Paul and Chris Calle.