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Before moon landing, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin learned geology in Grand Canyon

Flagstaff, Ariz. • Before Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin knew they would be the first to walk on the moon, they took crash courses in geology at the Grand Canyon and a nearby impact crater that is the most well-preserved on Earth.

Northern Arizona has had deep ties to the Apollo missions: Every moon-walking astronaut trained here, and a crater on the moon was even named in honor of the city of Flagstaff.

"It's a really interesting and unique part of our history, and it's really cool to think that this relatively small town in northern Arizona played such a big role in the Apollo missions," said Benjamin Carver, a public lands historian at Northern Arizona University.