COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Exactly 40 years ago, Americans watched as three astronauts returned home from the historic Apollo 11 mission to the moon.

One local man was there the day it all began -- not as an observer, but as a physicist contributing to what is now known about the moon.

Although he didn't actually go to the moon, University of Maryland professor Carroll Alley still led ABC 7 News to the center of it. "This part of the Apollo landing has been overlooked to some degree. There was science involved -- it was a piggyback sort of arrangement," he said.

It was his scientific experiment that eventually helped scientists discover that the moon had a fluid core.

Alley's laser ranging retro reflector experiment was sent to the moon aboard the Apollo 11 spacecraft. Photos show Buzz Aldrin dropping off the equipment.

"They were looking for simple experiments that would have good scientific results," Alley said.

Alley and his family watched from the Kennedy Space Center. "The surroundings actually moved. You could feel this high intensity rumble," he said.

"Being at such a special event at eight years old I knew how special that was and it was such an electric experience -- everyone was so excited," said Margaret Seymour, Alley's daughter.

Alley and other scientists were on hand to brief the astronauts before the mission and answer any questions they might have had.

"We were nervous during the actual moonwalk they wouldn't get to deploy the equipment before they had to go back in," he said. 

That experiment is the only one from the Apollo 11 mission still in use on the moon. His impact on science is something Alley has held dear for the last 40 years. 

Apollo missions 14 and 15 took additional light reflectors to the moon's surface. They're still helping scientists on Earth learn about the distance between Earth and the moon, which is sometimes altered by gravity.

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