To commemorate the historic day, US Air Force Colonel Eileen Collins is all set to become the first woman space shuttle commander of the National Aeronautics Space Association (NASA) when she heads the crew during a five-day mission aboard Space Shuttle Columbia, scheduled for liftoff on July 20. Then there are other anniversary events all over the US. NASA is organising dinners, breakfasts and picnics to recognise the contributions of the thousands of workers who made the lunar landing programme possible.

The National Air and Space Museum will hold a special exhibition at the Union Station, Washington DC. NASAemployees are invited to this special showing--Artistry of Space--from July 21 to 25, and the same will be open to the general public. Chicago too will witness celebrations.

On July 21, a moon rock dedication ceremony will take place, where Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin will be the main speaker. This will be to remind the world of Armstrong's historic moon buggy ride during which he collected samples of the surface of moon. From July 18-20, six Apollo astronauts, including Buzz Aldrin, will be at the US Space and Rocket Center.

The new full size standing Saturn V rocket will also be completed and displayed. On all three nights there will be a live presentation and re-enactment of the moon landing, done by actors. Music, food and fireworks come along with the package. Besides these events, there are things happening online too. For instance, the launch of a space advisory website--www.space.com. The formal launch is scheduled for July 20, to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the first man landing onthe moon.

Lou Dobbs, chairman and CEO of the site, was a senior executive with the CNN before joining the site. Before the formal launch of the site, space.com has begun its space advisory e-mail service, which offers the latest headlines and summaries about space exploration and the business and science of space, free of cost.

Says Dobbs, ``We will be a community for all fans of space.'' He adds, ``Not only are we setting the standard in the reporting of all space and space-related events and issues, but we will set the standards in responsiveness and interaction with people, whether through the e-mail advisory service or the website, space.com.'' Here's a sample of the lighter side of space.com.

Recently, it sent an online newsletter to its subscribers saying `Send your name to Mars'. According to the newsletter, NASA's `Send Your Name To Mars Programme' has collected over 2 lakh names. The names, sent over e-mail, will be burned on a CD that goes aboard the Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander. This is similarto the programme run for the Mars Polar Lander which attracted 9.30 lakh names. But the hitch is that even if somebody on Mars does get the CD, there won't be any names on it. Solar radiation will destroy all the data on the CD during the first few days of its nine-month.