First Moon landing

*This article is about the first manned Moon landing. For earlier uncrewed landings, see Space Race. For NASA's Moon landing program, see Apollo program. For other landings, see Space missions.*

## First Moon landing

### Part of

Space Race
Race to the Moon

Soviet flag planted on the Moon

## General Information

### Result

* Successful landing of the first human on the Moon
* USSR wins the Race to the Moon

The **first manned Moon landing** occured on June 26, 1969. On that day, the Soviet lunar landing module LK successfully landed on the Moon, carrying cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, who became the first ever human to set foot on the lunar surface. The event was broadcasted live to everywhere on Earth.

> I take this step for my country, for my people, and for the Marxist-Leninist way of life, knowing that today is but one small step on a journey that someday will take us all to the stars.
>
> Alexei Leonov's first words from the Moon,
> in Season 1, Episode 1, "Red Moon"

## History

Successfully landing a man on the Moon and bring him safely back to Earth was the major goal of the Moon race between the United States and the Soviet Union during the 1960s.

On May 25, 1961, US President John F. KennedyW stood before a joint session of Congress to deliver a "Special Message on Urgent National Needs", saying that the United States should achieve the goal of landing a man on the Moon before the end of the decade.

In January 1969, the Soviets launched a N1 rocket, reported by the CIA to be uncrewed with a certainty of 95%.

In May 1969, NASA launched Apollo 10, with astronauts Ed Baldwin, Gordo Stevens, and Fred Talmadge aboard. The mission was described as a "dress rehearsal" for the first crewed landing planned for a later date that year. Ed and Gordo descended with the Apollo landing module (LEM) to within eight nautical miles (15 km) above the lunar surface before aborting as planned and returning to the command module in lunar orbit, where Fred was waiting for them.

In late June 1969, another N1 launch was reported, supposed to be uncrewed with a certainty of 80%.

On June 26, 1969, Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov set foot on the lunar surface and planted the Soviet flag on the Moon. The landing was broadcasted live all around the world and it was expected that it was seen live by a viewership of over 500 million people.

### Aftermath

The Soviet crewed landing and them beating the United States in the race to the Moon was a shock to the western world and especially to the US. Throuout the country, newspapers titled the event as "Red Moon". President Nixon demanded answers, and NASA was criticized by the press for not landing with Apollo 10 the month before.

## Later firsts on the Moon

* On July 20, 1969, the Apollo 11 LEM landed on the Moon. Neil Armstrong became the first American to set foot on the Moon.
* On September 20, 1969, the Soviets landed the first woman, Anastasia Belikova, on the Moon, causing another stir in the media of the western world.
* On October 21, 1971, Molly Cobb became the first American woman on the Moon as part of the Apollo 15 mission.

## Gallery

Kennedy's speech to Congress, 1961Jack Broadstreet commenting Moon landing on US TVMoon landing on US televisionFirst step on the MoonAlexei Leonov plants the Soviet flagSoviet landing seen at Mission ControlThe LK landing craftNixon watching the Soviet landingSoviet landing in the newspaperNASA press conference after the Soviet landing
## Behind the scenes

The Soviet Moon landing is the big change in *For All Mankind'*s alternative timeline, the first visible and most impactful point of divergence, although the real point of divergence happened over 3 years earlier, when Soviet chief engineer and father of the Soviet space program, Sergei KorolevW, survived surgery in 1966. The Moon landing however is what changed things on a bigger scale, influencing everything space related coming afterwards, as well as politics, science in general, and also cultural changes around the globe.

## See also

* Space Race
* Race to the Moon
* Point of Divergence

## References

1. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 1, Episode 1: "Red Moon"