Why the lunar module is leaving the Franklin Institute

Bill Piccinni, 67, was riding his bike by the Franklin Institute when something halted his pedaling. The lunar module looked as if King Kong had ripped it in half, he said.

Concerned, he asked Curious Philly, The Inquirer’s forum for questions about the city and region: What is going on with the Apollo-era lunar module? Is the Franklin Institute getting rid of it?

“It’s been there for so long; it’s like a part of the city almost,” Piccinni said. “If it disappears, it would just be a shame.”

Sadly for Philly space lovers, the disjointed module does signal a farewell. After 49 years at the museum, it is returning to its previous orbit — Washington.

Neil Armstrong’s ride look-alike, a prototype used in preparations for several Apollo missions, was loaned by the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in 1976, according to Derrick Pitts, the Franklin Institute’s chief astronomer. Now, that museum has asked for the module’s return.

“All museums, when they are keeping track of their artifacts … set a period of time for how long it’s gonna be borrowed, and then they will ask for it back,” Pitts said.

The chief astronomer is not sure what awaits the Grumman structural engineering test module near D.C. The engineering prototype served to test how the parts and pieces would fit together in preparation for the real Apollo 11 lunar module that took Armstrong to the moon.

To Pitts, that doesn’t make it any less special. On the contrary, he views the equipment as an epitome of the height of space exploration technology at the time. It’s proof that “we successfully sent explorers to the moon and brought them back safely,” Pitts said.

For future generations of Philadelphians, this means no longer being able to see the module up close without leaving the city. People in Washington won’t be seeing this particular module either. There are currently no plans for it to be displayed at the National Air and Space Museum, according to spokesperson Marc Sklar.

For now, the Franklin Institute is considering an array of options for replacing the module in the backyard, but nothing is set in stone, Pitts said. In the meantime, the museum’s Wondrous space continues to be an option for folks wanting to learn about space.

“I am just really appreciative that people have paid attention to the lunar module enough to wonder what is going on with it,” Pitts said. “We are really very glad that you are aware that it has been here and that you are going to miss it.”