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Products and Solutions

Heraeus and the Apollo 11 mission

When Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins set off on the first manned moon landing in 1969, they had a laser retroreflector on board. The device still stands on the moon today and makes it possible to measure the exact distance between Earth and Moon. High-tech fused silica from Heraeus made this reflector possible. More infos on the retroreflector and various space missions can be found at apollo-11.com.

Video Material

video slider

Download the video files here:

  • NASA orginal footage Aldrin Reflector_EN (HighRes) Courtesy of NASA
  • Fused Silica Production Footage

Download the video files here:

  • Grant Lu Interview_EN
  • James Faller Interview_EN
  • Todd Jaeger Interview_EN

Download the video files here:

  • Gerhard Steiner Interview_DE
  • Peter Hitzschke Interview_DE
  • Dr. Ralf Takke Interview_DE

Download Transcripts

  • Transcript_Steiner_EN
  • Transcript_Hitzschke_EN
  • Transcript_Takke_EN

Info Material

Source: NASA

Press Release: 50 years of Heraeus on the moon

  • Download as .pdf-file

Infographic: How Lunar Laser Ranging Works

  • Download as .pdf-file
Source: NASA

Media Briefing “Heraeus and Apollo 11”

  • Download as .pdf-file

Picture material

Triple prisms like the ones used for the retroreflector of the Apollo 11 mission.

  • Heraeus triple prisms

Employees of the Heraeus fused silica division in Hanau celebrate a successful production completion (at the end of the 1960s). Peter Hitzschke can be seen on the right hand of the picture (with closed eyes).

  • Heraeus Fused Silica Hanau

Employees of the Heraeus fused silica division in Hanau in the year 1966. Third from left is Peter Hitzschke, to his right his superior and head of fused silica production Martin Selke. The disks seen on the picture are mirrors that have been produced in the mid-60s for NASA, presumably for space telescopes.

  • Heraeus Employees Quartz Melt (1966)

The core team that was responsible for the production of the triple prisms (grinding and polishing) in the Heraeus fused silica plant in Hanau, Germany (1968). To the right a precision cutting machine can be seen – it was used to cut the triple prisms in their characteristic shape.

  • Core Team_Tripelprism

Gerhard Steiner controls the quality of the tripelprisms for the Apollo 11 mission (1969).

  • Steiner_Tripelprism Control
Source: NASA

Buzz Aldrin carries the Laser Ranging Retro-Reflector in his right hand on his way to deploy it. In his left hand is the Passive Seismic Experiments Package. Source: NASA.

  • NASA Aldrin carrying reflector
Source: NASA

Science on the Moon

More on the mind behind the retroreflector experiment

Source: Getty Images

Big Bang Theory

That's how the retroreflector that Faller invented works

Source: Don Harley/NASA

Heraeus in Space

To this day Heraeus is part of multiple fascinating projects in Space

Source: NASA

Laser Beams and GPS

What the laser experiment means for today’s navigation systems

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