July 20, 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the historic landing of the Lunar Module Eagle on the surface of the moon. 

Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin stepped out of that lander just a few hours later to be the first men to walk on the the moon.  Astronaut Michael Collins orbited high above, monitoring their progress in the Command and Service Module Columbia which acted as their home for the 8 day mission.

The mission began with the launch of the powerful Saturn V on July 16, 1969. Of that massive craft, the only thing to return to earth and survive the firey re-entry into our atmosphere along with the 3 astronauts was the Command Module Columbia which is now on exhibit at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.   

You don’t have to travel all the way to D.C. to experience this historical craft, however. In 2017, the Smithsonian Institue, with the help of Autodesk has captured the Columbia in full 3D using a variety of equipment including remotely controlled LiDAR and photogrammetry scanners mounted to arms that could reach inside the capsule.  The team performing the scans produced 3D model, animations and virtual reality panoramas.  Scans were registered though Autodesk ReCap and coverted to mesh models.

You can see the completed interior model courtesy of the Smithsonian 3D program at: https://3d.si.edu/apollo11cm.  

Also, you can read the Autodesk ReCap blog on the scanning process here: https://blogs.autodesk.com/recap/capturing-columbia/