2019 marks 50 years since the Apollo 11 lunar mission. It was 16 July 1969 when Neil Armstrong, Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin and Michael Collins blasted off into space. Some 530 million people around the world tuned into the live television broadcast of the Moon landing on 20 July. When the ‘Eagle’ lunar module landed on the surface of the Moon, Armstrong was first to step out, famously saying ‘that’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind’. The mission would last eight days, three hours, 18 minutes and 35 seconds with the trio of heroes returned safely to earth.

Here are seven Vivid Sydney events and light installations that honour this historic occasion and take us to into space.

KA3323

24 May – 15 June
Royal Botanic Gardens
Free

The light installation KA3323 is somewhat reminiscent of ‘The Dish’ at Parkes, NSW. This retro-futuristic satellite dish, overgrown with alien plant life, has landed in the Royal Botanic Garden and beckons visitors to discover its origins and purpose.

Use the joystick on the control hub to hunt for signals in the night sky by moving the dish and filtering sounds through the radio spectrum. ‘Voices’ or ‘machines’ can be heard across the intergalactic continuum. KA3323 pulsates slowly with a steady beat interpreted from the live atmosphere around the satellite until someone finds and ‘locks on’ to a signal. When an incoming source is received, the display blinks into life.

Watch as signals travel through the contraption’s circuitry and trigger light states and movement in the foreign flora. Not only will viewers see signals dance in front of their eyes, they will also hear the hidden signal sources. KA3323 encourages us to look up at the night sky and wonder what secrets lie beyond the stars.

PlaySPACE Tumbalong Lights

24 May – 15 June
Darling Harbour, Tumbalong Park
Free

You’re in for an intergalactic adventure at Tumbalong Lights playSPACE. This inclusive playground at Darling Harbour celebrates the art of play, the basic human right of inclusion and the joy of discovery in honour of the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing.

Journey To the Moon and Back in under three minutes! Then take a moment to enjoy a stop motion animation One Giant Leap about the moon landing. Experience Under the Milky Way through indigenous dreaming. Get down and jam with a very funky Alien Visitor. And, race your mates at Space Balls, an inter-galactic planetary spin on the old favourite game ‘marble run’.

Robot SPACELand

24 May – 15 June
Darling Harbour
Free

Imagine a not-too-distant future where a new civilisation rises from our post-industrial debris. Over at Cockle Bay, mind-boggling electro-automotive super-scale eco-bots have been sent to sow the seeds of a brighter, greener tomorrow while Truth-Seeker turns its eyes to the skies, raking the galaxies for intelligence that will help preserve our planet – and us.

Shows commence at 7:40pm and 9pm on Friday and Saturday nights during Vivid Sydney as well as the Sunday of the Queen’s Birthday long weekend.

Astro Robo Kiddo Disco

25 May, 1,8,15 June
Home The Venue, Darling Harbour
Buy Tickets

Close by, Home the Venue in Darling Harbour gets an interplanetary spin when Kiddo Disco goes Astro Robo. Mix dress-ups with upbeat tunes and robot dancing for the most glow-in-the-dark fun you and the kids can have under a mirror ball.

Vivid Art After Hours: An Astronaut's Playlist

12 June
Art Gallery of New South Wales
Free

When Buzz Aldrin followed Neil Armstong out onto the lunar surface, he toted a portable cassette player. As he pressed play, Frank Sinatra's 1964 recording of Fly Me to the Moon floated out into the oxygen-free atmosphere. Jonathan Zwartz Lunar Module commemorates this magnificent moment and re-imagines what else could have been on Aldrin’s cassette tape in An Astronaut’s Playlist at Vivid Art After Hours at the Art Gallery of NSW.

And Love Will Steer the Stars

25 May and 8 June
The Concourse, Chatswood
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1969 was a momentous year of change and future-gazing. The first man on the moon, Woodstock, President Nixon, The Beatles’ Abbey Road, John and Yoko’s Bed In, the Cold War … The world was entering a new era, all to the soundtrack of some of the most seminal and radical rock and pop music.

In this celebratory event, rock and classical music collide as Willoughby Symphony Orchestra joins forces with rock band 1969 to take you on an inspiring journey through music’s golden year. Immerse yourself in the radiance of peace and harmony as you experience classics like Elvis Presley’s Suspicious Minds, Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline and David Bowie’s Space Oddity brought to life by a full-scale orchestra, rock band and a wall of vocal harmonies. In true Vivid Sydney style The Concourse’s magnificent concert hall will also light up with images from the era.

New Horizons: Ockam’s Razor – Live

15 June
Vivid Ideas Exchange, Museum of Contemporary Art, Australia
Register

From astrophysics to animal rescue and exploring sunken treasures, join five brilliant young scientists as they share incredibly compelling stories from the frontiers of innovation. One of those bright sparks is astrophysicist Devika Kamath who has discovered what happens when real stars hook-up. And she is rewriting the astronomy textbooks as a result!

Whether you dream of being an astronaut (or maybe missed the call from NASA to join the space program), we can all learn something new by looking beyond our planet toward the moon and stars.