18-07-2025
Machine that helped Neil Armstrong step on moon donated to Scottish museum
The Facit Model LX calculator, made in Sweden, belonged to Glasgow-born astronomer Professor Archie Roy
A machine that helped Neil Armstrong make his "one small step" on the moon has been donated to a Scottish museum. The calculator was used by a Scottish scientist to help plot the path of the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969.
The crucial gadget has been donated to National Museums Scotland ahead of the mission's 55th anniversary this month. The Facit Model LX calculator was built in Sweden between 1938 and 1954, and belonged to the late Professor Archie Roy, a renowned Glasgow-born astronomer and physicist.
The machine played a key role in the calculations behind the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, which saw Neil Armstrong become the first person to set foot on the moon, something he described as a "giant leap for mankind".
Professor Roy was invited by NASA to act as a consultant on trajectory calculations, using the Facit to carry out work that helped guide the spacecraft to the lunar surface on July 20, 1969.
The same calculator, which Roy first used during his PhD studies at Glasgow University in the 1950s, remained a key tool throughout his career until it was eventually replaced by electronic computers in the later 1960s.
Professor Roy was educated at Hillhead High School before studying at Glasgow University, where he later became a lecturer and continued to teach for many years.
His distinguished academic career spanned several disciplines, with research interests ranging from astrodynamics and celestial mechanics to archaeoastronomy and neural networks.
He held numerous prestigious honours, including Fellowships with the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Royal Astronomical Society, and the British Interplanetary Society.
Professor Roy also had a keen interest in psychical research, serving as a Member and past President of the Society for Psychical Research, and as Founding President of The Scottish Society for Psychical Research.
The historic Facit machine has now been added to the science and technology collections at National Museums Scotland, where it will sit alongside other key artefacts related to space exploration and astronomy.
These include a prototype camera developed for use on the moon, and an analogue calculator once used to solve Kepler's equation.
Dr Tacye Philipson, senior curator of science at National Museums Scotland, said the calculator is 'a wonderful addition' to the national collection.
'It is a visibly well-used piece of kit, reflecting Professor Archie Roy's long and productive career,' she said.
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'Moreover, when we think of the array of computational power at our fingertips today with our phones and laptops, it is evocative to look at this completely analogue machine and think that it was instrumental in one of the most extraordinary technological achievements in human history, one unsurpassed and even unrepeated in over 50 years.'
She added: 'Professor Roy's calculator gives us a tangible link to Scotland's part in that achievement.'
Following his retirement in 1989, the machine was kept by Roy's close friend, the former Astronomer Royal for Scotland, Professor John Brown, who recognised its historical value. It was recently donated to National Museums Scotland by Roy's widow, Margaret Roy.
