Motorola's Apollo 40th "Celestial Edition" Aura

Motorola launches AURA Celestial Edition to commemorate their seminal role in the first moon landing

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first landing on the moon, Motorola commemorates their involvement with the launch of AURA Celestial Edition

July 20th, 1969 saw the human race accomplish one of its single greatest technological achievements by landing on the moon. It was a Motorola radio transponder aboard the Apollo 11 that relayed the first words and television signals from the moon to Earth, allowing over 500 million people to witness history in the making. It is this defining moment that has provided the spark of inspiration for Motorola's AURA Celestial Edition - an exclusive edition of the ultimate luxury handset that commemorates Motorola's role in history.

Video credit: Motorola

Motorola has been at the forefront of many world communication 'firsts' over the last 80 years, none of which is more significant than the landing on the moon.

Motorola AURA Celestial Edition - the first of which is due to be received by legendary astronaut, Neil Armstrong - features exclusive, original NASA content from the moon landing, including video footage, stills, and sound files of such immortal lines as "the Eagle has landed" and "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

A precision laser etched quote, "Motorola AURA Celestial Edition, Honouring the Apollo 11 mission, 20th July 1969", features on the handset and to complete the story, nine specially commissioned postcards are included within the presentation box.

"Motorola has a history of world firsts - we were the first to make a mobile phone and introduce them to the world, we set world record for the highest land-based phone call from the peaks of Mount Everest and we were there for the first ever communication from the moon. To celebrate our heritage in landmark events, we're excited to launch AURA Celestial Edition and look forward to it becoming another successful chapter in Motorola's long-standing history of design and innovation," says Andrew Morley, VP of Marketing EMARA for Motorola Mobile Devices.

The Celestial Edition features AURA's hallmark of timeless sophistication, artistry, craftsmanship and inspired excellence. Recalling the beauty of luxury timepieces, the liquid-crystal display houses 16 million colours and 300dpi resolution on the perfectly round, moon-shaped circular screen (a world first for a mobile device), capped with a Grade 1, 62 carat sapphire crystal lens - one of the most scratch-resistant materials on earth (and moon!) With more than 700 individual components, including Swiss-made ball bearings, the AURA embodies seamless mechanics and beautiful design.

Motorola AURA Celestial Edition will be on sale from early July, but will only be available until the end of the year, and from selected retailers.