Apollo 11
Apollo 11 was the spaceflight
Spaceflight (or space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly spacecraft into or through outer space, either human spaceflight, with or uncrewed spaceflight, without humans on board. Most spacefli ...
, which was the first mission to on the 
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. At about one-quarter the diameter of Earth (comparable to the width of Australia (continent), Australia), it is the largest natural satellite in the Solar System relative to the size of its plane ...
. ''Columbia'' is the only spacecraft of the Apollo 11 mission that returned to Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbour and support life. 29.2% of Earth's surface is land consisting of continents and islands. The remaining 70.8% is Water distribution on Earth, covered wi ...
.
The name ''Columbia'' was first suggested to Michael Collins by Julian Scheer
Julian Weisel Scheer (February 20, 1926 – September 1, 2001) was an American merchant mariner
A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of dif ...
, NASA assistant administrator of public affairs during the Apollo program
The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the third United States human spaceflight program carried out by the NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which succeeded in Moon landing, landing the first humans ...
. Scheer mentioned the name, in passing, in a phone conversation, saying "some of us up here have been kicking around ''Columbia''." Collins initially thought it was "a bit pompous" but the name eventually stuck as he could not think of a better alternative and his crewmates Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrin (; born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr., January 20, 1930) is an American former astronaut
An astronaut (from the Greek "astron" (ἄστρον), meaning "star", and "nautes" (ναύτης), meaning "sailor") is a person trained, e ...
and Neil Armstrong
Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut
An astronaut (from the Greek "astron" (ἄστρον), meaning "star", and "nautes" (ναύτης), meaning "sailor") is a person trained, equipp ...
had no objections. Collins was also influenced to accept the name because of its similarity to ''Columbiad
The columbiad was a large-caliber
In gun
A gun is a designed to use a shooting tube () to launch typically solid s, but can also project pressurized (e.g. s/s, s for or , , and technically also s), (e.g. ) or even s (e.g. ). ...
'', the name of the space gun
A space gun, sometimes called a Verne gun because of its appearance in ''From the Earth to the Moon
''From the Earth to the Moon: A Direct Route in 97 Hours, 20 Minutes'' (french: De la Terre à la Lune, trajet direct en 97 heures 20 minutes) ...
in Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary
John Christopher Wells (born 11 March 1939) is a British Phonetics, phonetician and Esperantist. Wells is a professor emeritus at University College London, where until his retirement ...
's 1865 science fiction novel ''From the Earth to the Moon
''From the Earth to the Moon: A Direct Route in 97 Hours, 20 Minutes'' (french: De la Terre à la Lune, trajet direct en 97 heures 20 minutes) is an 1865 novel by Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary
John ...
'',
Following the mission and after a tour of U.S. cities, ''Columbia'' was given to the Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply, the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
in 1971. It was designated a "Milestone in Flight" and displayed prominently at National Air and Space Museum#REDIRECT National Air and Space Museum
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