Apollo 11: First Men on the Moon Apollo 11: First Men on the Moon By Nola Taylor Redd, Space.com Contributor | July 25, 2012 03:39pm ET MORE Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin Aldrin photographed this iconic photo, a view of his footprint in the lunar soil, as part of an experiment to study the nature of lunar dust and the effects of pressure on the surface during the historic first manned moon landing in July 1969. Credit: NASA The historic launch of the Apollo 11 mission carried three astronauts toward the moon. Two of them would set foot on the lunar surface for the first time in human history as millions of people around the world followed their steps on television. The astronauts The crew of Apollo 11 were all experienced astronauts. All three had flown missions into space before. Cmdr. Neil Armstrong , 38, had previously piloted Gemini 8, the first time two vehicles docked in space. Born Aug. 5, 1930, in Ohio, Armstrong was 38 when he became the first civilian to command two American space missions.

Apollo 11 crew: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin. Credit: NASA Col. Edwin Eugene "Buzz" Aldrin , 39, was the first astronaut with a doctorate to fly in space. Born Jan. 20, 1930, in New Jersey, Aldrin piloted Gemini 12, taking a two-hour, twenty-minute walk in space to demonstrate that an astronaut could work efficiently outside of the vehicle. For Apollo 11, he served as the lunar module pilot. The command module pilot, Lt. Col. Michael Collins, 38, was born in Italy on Oct. 31, 1930. The pilot of Gemini 10, Collins spent almost an hour and a half outside of the craft on a space-walk and became the first person to meet another spacecraft in orbit. From Earth to the moon Mission planners at NASA studied the lunar surface for two years, searching for the best place to make the historic landing. Using high-resolution photographs taken by the Lunar Orbiter satellite and close-up photographs taken by the Surveyor spacecraft, they narrowed the initial thirty sites down to three.

Influencing factors included the number of craters and boulders, few high cliffs or hills, and a relatively flat surface. The amount of sunlight was also a factor in determining the best time to land on the lunar surface. Apollo 11 launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 9:32 a.m. EDT on July 16, 1969. While in flight, the crew made two televised broadcasts from the interior of the ship, and a third transmission as they drew closer to the moon, revealing the lunar surface and the intended approach path. On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin entered the lunar module, nicknamed the "Eagle" and separated from the Command Service Module — the "Columbia" — headed toward the lunar surface. Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin poses with the American flag on the surface of the moon in July 1969. Credit: NASA The lunar module touched down on the moon's Sea of Tranquility , a large basaltic region, at 4:17 p.m. EDT. Armstrong notified Houston with the historic words, "Houston, this is Tranquility Base.

The Eagle has landed." For the first two hours, Armstrong and Aldrin checked all of the systems, configured the lunar module for the stay on the moon, and ate. They decided to skip the scheduled four-hour rest to explore the surface. A camera in the Eagle provided live coverage as Armstrong descended down a ladder at 11:56 p.m. on July 20, 1969, and uttered the words, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Aldrin followed twenty minutes later, with Armstrong recording his descent. Armstrong had the responsibility to document the landing, so most of the images taken from the Apollo 11 mission were of Aldrin. [Images: NASA's Historic Apollo 11 Moon Landing in Pictures ] While on the surface, the astronauts set up several experiments, collected samples of lunar soil and rock to bring home, erected a United States flag, and took core samples from the crust. They spoke with U.S. President Richard Nixon, whose voice was transmitted from the White House, and placed a plaque that stated: HERE MEN FROM THE PLANET EARTH FIRST SET FOOT UPON THE MOON JULY 1969, A.D.

WE CAME IN PEACE FOR ALL MANKIND Memorial medallions with the names of the three astronauts who perished in the Apollo 1 fire and two cosmonauts who were also deceased, including the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin , remained after the astronauts left, as did a one-and-a-half-inch silicon disk with goodwill messages from 73 countries, and as the names of congressional and NASA leaders. Armstrong spent a little over two and a half hours outside of the Eagle. The astronauts traveled a total distance of about 3,300 feet (1 kilometer) as they walked around, traveling as far as 200 feet (60 meters) from the module to visit a large crater. They collected 47.51 pounds (21.55 kilograms) of samples from the moon, and reported that mobility on the moon was easier than anticipated. Apollo 11 astronauts, still in their quarantine van, are greeted by their wives upon arrival at Ellington Air Force Base on July 27, 1969. Credit: NASA At 1:54 p.m.

EDT, having spent a total of 21 and a half hours on the moon , the lunar module blasted back to where Collins sat in the Columbia. The two vehicles docked, and the crew and samples transferred to the Command Service Module before the Eagle was jettisoned into space. The astronauts headed back home. The team splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 12:50 p.m. EDT on July 24, only a few miles from the recovery ship, the U.S.S. Hornet. After donning biological isolation garments, the crew left the Columbia and climbed into a rubber boat, where they were rubbed down with iodine in an effort to stem potential contamination. They traveled by helicopter to a Mobile Quarantine Facility aboard the ship before being taken to Houston. They remained quarantine until Aug. 10, having completed the national goal set by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, to perform a crewed lunar landing and return to Earth. This is part of a SPACE.com series of articles on the Greatest Moments in Flight, the breakthrough events that paved the way for human spaceflight and its next steps: asteroid mining and bases on the moon and Mars.

Related: Apollo 11 (AS-506) | National Air and Space Museum Apollo 11 (AS-506) Lunar Landing Mission Apollo 11 was the first manned mission to land on the Moon. The first steps by humans on another planetary body were taken by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on July 20, 1969. The astronauts also returned to Earth the first samples from another planetary body. Apollo 11 achieved its primary mission - to perform a manned lunar landing and return the mission safely to Earth - and paved the way for the Apollo lunar landing missions to follow. Summary of Events The Apollo 11 spacecraft was launched from Cape Kennedy at 13:32:00 UT on July 16, 1969. After 2 hr and 33 min in Earth orbit, the S-IVB engine was reignited for acceleration of the spacecraft to the velocity required for Earth gravity escape. Lunar-orbit insertion began at 75:50 ground elapsed time (GET). The spacecraft was placed in an elliptical orbit (61 by 169 nautical miles), inclined 1.25 degrees to the lunar equatorial plane.

At 80:12 GET, the service module propulsion system was reignited, and the orbit was made nearly circular (66 by 54 nautical miles) above the surface of the Moon. Each orbit took two hours. Photographs taken from lunar orbit provided broad views for the study of regional lunar geology. The lunar module (LM), with Astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin aboard, was undocked from the command-service module (CSM) at 100:14 GET, following a thorough check of all the LM systems. At 101:36 GET, the LM descent engine was fired for approximately 29 seconds, and the descent to the lunar surface began. At 102:33 GET, the LM descent engine was started for the last time and burned until touchdown on the lunar surface. Eagle landed on the Moon 102 hr, 45 min and 40 sec after launch. Immediately after landing on the Moon, Armstrong and Aldrin prepared the LM for liftoff as a contingency measure. Following the meal, a scheduled sleep period was postponed at the astronauts' request, and the astronauts began preparations for descent to the lunar surface.

Astronaut Armstrong emerged from the spacecraft first. While descending, he released the Modularized Equipment Stowage Assembly (MESA) on which the surface television camera was stowed, and the camera recorded humankind's first step on the Moon at 109:24:19 GET (pictured at left). A sample of lunar surface material was collected and stowed to assure that, if a contingency required an early end to the planned surface activities, samples of lunar surface material would be returned to Earth. Astronaut Aldrin subsequently descended to the lunar surface. The astronauts carried out the planned sequence of activities that included deployment of a Solar Wind Composition (SWC) experiment, collection of a larger sample of lunar material, panoramic photographs of the region near the landing site and the lunar horizon, closeup photographs of in place lunar surface material, deployment of a Laser-Ranging Retroreflector (LRRR) and a Passive Seismic Experiment Package (PSEP), and collection of two core-tube samples of the lunar surface. Approximately two and a quarter hours after descending to the surface, the astronauts began preparations to reenter the LM, after which the astronauts slept.

The ascent from the lunar surface began at 124:22 GET, 21 hours and 36 minutes after the lunar landing. In transearth coast only one of four planned midcourse corrections was required. The CM entered the atmosphere of the Earth with a velocity of 36,194 feet per second (11,032 meters per second) and landed in the Pacific Ocean. From NASA SP-214, Preliminary Science Report. NASA Honors Historic First Moon Landing, Eyes First Mars Mission | NASA MEDIA ADVISORY M14-121 NASA Honors Historic First Moon Landing, Eyes First Mars Mission NASA marks the 45th anniversary of the first moon landing this month while it takes the steps needed for America's next giant leap to send astronauts to Mars. [image-51]NASA's Apollo 11 crew landed on the moon July 20, 1969. The world watched 45 years ago as astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set their lunar module Eagle down in the Sea of Tranquility, while crewmate Michael Collins orbited above in the command module Columbia.

The agency will commemorate Armstrong's "one giant leap for mankind" through a number of events across, and above, the United States during the next two weeks, as well as on the agency's website and NASA Television. On Friday, July 18 at 1:30 p.m. EDT, NASA TV will air a presentation with Academy Award winner and executive producer Morgan Freeman live from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. The event also will include NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman participating from the International Space Station and clips from the Primetime Emmy nominated Through the Wormhole, as well as new series Man v. Universe, both which air on Science Channel. Also on Friday at 3:30 p.m., NASA will host a discussion with Buzz Aldrin and astronaut Mike Massimino at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York during the Intrepid Space and Science Festival. NASA also will have exhibits and activities at the festival Thursday, July 17 - Sunday, July 20.

For more information about the festival, visit On July 20 at 10:39 p.m., when Armstrong opened the spacecraft hatch to begin the first spacewalk on the moon, NASA TV will replay the restored footage of Armstrong and Aldrin's historic steps on the lunar surface. On Monday, July 21 at 10 a.m. from the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA TV will air live coverage of the renaming of the center's Operations and Checkout Building in honor of Armstrong, who passed away in 2012. The renaming ceremony will include NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, Kennedy Center Director Robert Cabana, Apollo 11’s Collins, Aldrin and astronaut Jim Lovell, who was the mission’s back-up commander. International Space Station NASA astronauts Wiseman and Steve Swanson, who is the current station commander, also will take part in the ceremony from their orbiting laboratory 260 miles above Earth. Kennedy's Operations and Checkout Building has played a vital role in NASA’s spaceflight history. It was used during the Apollo program to process and test the command, service and lunar modules.

Today, the facility is being used to process and assemble NASA’s Orion spacecraft, which the agency will use to send astronauts to an asteroid in the 2020s and Mars in the 2030s. On Thursday, July 24 at 6 p.m. EDT, which is the 45th anniversary of Apollo 11's return to Earth, the agency will host a panel discussion -- called NASA’s Next Giant Leap -- from Comic-Con International in San Diego, California. Moderated by actor Seth Green, the panel includes Aldrin, NASA Planetary Science Division Director Jim Green, JPL systems engineer Bobak Ferdowsi, and NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, who will talk about Orion and the Space Launch System rocket, which will carry humans on America’s next great adventure in space. NASA.gov will host features, videos, and historic images and audio clips that highlight the Apollo 11 anniversary, as well as the future of human spaceflight. To explore all the special content, visit: To join the ongoing conversation on social media about the anniversary and NASA's deep space exploration plans, use the hashtags #NextGiantLeap and #Apollo45.

For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit: BBC ON THIS DAY | 21 | 1969: Man takes first steps on the Moon 1969: Man takes first steps on the Moon American Neil Armstrong has become the first man to walk on the Moon. The astronaut stepped onto the Moon's surface, in the Sea of Tranquility, at 0256 GMT, nearly 20 minutes after first opening the hatch on the Eagle landing craft. Armstrong had earlier reported the lunar module's safe landing at 2017 GMT with the words: "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed." As he put his left foot down first Armstrong declared: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." He described the surface as being like powdered charcoal and the landing craft left a crater about a foot deep. 'We came in peace' The historic moments were captured on television cameras installed on the Eagle and turned on by Armstrong. Armstrong spent his first few minutes on the Moon taking photographs and soil samples in case the mission had to be aborted suddenly.

He was joined by colleague Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin at 0315 GMT and the two collected data and performed various exercises - including jumping across the landscape - before planting the Stars and Stripes flag at 0341 GMT. They also unveiled a plaque bearing President Nixon's signature and an inscription reading: "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon July 1969 AD. We came in peace for all mankind." After filming their experience with a portable television camera the astronauts received a message from the US President. President Nixon, in the White House, spoke of the pride of the American people and said: "This certainly has to be the most historic telephone call ever made." Many other nations - including the UK - sent messages of congratulation. Moscow Radio announced the news solemnly in its 1030 GMT broadcast. As Aldrin and Armstrong collected samples, Michael Collins told mission control in Houston he had successfully orbited the Moon in the mother ship Columbia, and take-off was on schedule for 1750 GMT this evening. Apollo 11 Mission - First Humans on the Moon Apollo 11 Mission By Nick Greene Updated July 21, 2016.

"We choose to go to the Moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too." President John F. Kennedy Houston, Texas September 12, 1962 The Space Race, and competition to land on the moon were products of the Cold War. Not only were our efforts to get into space and on the Moon efforts to prove technological superiority, but there was also a real fear in the United States and the then-Soviet Union, that the other might place weapons of mass destruction in space. The Soviet Union was ahead of the U.S. in this effort. So far, they had placed the first artificial satellite in orbit, with the launch of Sputnik on October 4, 1957. continue reading below our video Test Your General Science Knowledge On April 12, 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit Earth.

From the time he entered office in 1961, President John F. Kennedy made it a priority to place a man on the Moon. His dream became reality on July 20, 1969, with the landing of the Apollo 11 mission on the lunar surface. It was a watershed moment in world history, amazing even the Russians, who had to admit that (for the moment) they had lost the space race. Apollo 11 Lifts Off! Apollo 11 launched on July 16, 1969 , carrying three astronauts: Neil Armstrong , Buzz Aldrin , and Michael Collins. They reached the Moon on July 20, and later that day as millions watched on televisions around the world, Neil Armstrong left the lunar lander to become the first man to set foot on the Moon. Together the two men took images, rock samples, and did some scientific experiments for a few hours before returning to the Eagle lander for the final time. They left the Moon (after 21 hours and 36 minutes) to return to the Columbia command module, where Michael Collins had stayed behind. They returned to Earth to a hero's welcome and the rest is history!

Why Go to the Moon? Ostensibly, the purposes of the manned lunar missions were to study the internal structure of the Moon, surface composition, how the surface structure was formed and the age of the Moon. They would also investigate traces of volcanic activity, the rate of solid objects hitting the moon, presence of any magnetic fields, and tremors. Samples would also be gathered of lunar soil and detected gases. That was the scientific case for what was also a technological challenge. Starting the Road to the Moon The early manned flights of the Mercury and Gemini missions had demonstrated that humans could survive in space. Next came the Apollo missions, which would land humans on the Moon. First would come unmanned test flights. These would be followed by manned missions testing the command module in Earth's orbit. Next, the lunar module would be connected to the command module, still in Earth's orbit. Then, the first flight to the Moon would be attempted, followed by the first attempt to land on the moon. There were plans for as many as 20 Apollo missions. Starting Apollo Early in the program, on January 27, 1967, a tragedy occurred that killed three astronauts and nearly killed the program.

A fire aboard the ship during tests of the Apollo/Saturn 204 (more commonly known as Apollo 1 mission) left all three crewmembers (Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, {the second American astronaut to fly into space} astronaut Edward H. White II, {the first American astronaut to "walk" in space} and astronaut Roger B. Chaffee) dead. After an investigation had been completed, and changes made, the program continued. No mission was ever conducted with the name Apollo 2 or Apollo 3. Apollo 4 launched in November 1967. It was followed in January 1968 with Apollo 5, the first test of the Lunar Module in space. The final unmanned Apollo mission was Apollo 6, which launched on April 4, 1968. The manned missions began with Apollo 7's Earth orbit, which launched in October 1968. Apollo 8 followed in December 1968, orbited the moon and returned to Earth. Apollo 9 was another Earth-orbit mission to test the lunar module.

The Apollo 10 mission (in May 1969) was a complete staging of the upcoming Apollo 11 mission without actually landing on the Moon. It was the second one to orbit the Moon and the first to travel to the Moon with the entire Apollo spacecraft configuration. Astronauts Thomas Stafford and Eugene Cernan descended inside the Lunar Module to within 14 kilometers of the lunar surface achieving the closest approach to date to the Moon. Their mission paved the final way to the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon. The Apollo missions were the most successful manned missions to come out of the Cold War. They and the astronauts that flew them accomplished many great things that led NASA to create technologies that led not just to space shuttles and planetary missions, but also to improvements in medical and other technologies. Neil Armstrong: First Man on the Moon Neil Armstrong: First Man on the Moon By SPACE.com Staff | August 25, 2013 05:28am ET MORE Neil Armstrong sits in the lunar module after a historic moonwalk. Credit: NASA Neil A. Armstrong was a NASA astronaut and the first man on the moon or, more accurately, the first man to set foot on the moon.

He was also an accomplished test pilot and a figure so large in American and world history that you can bet many generations from now people will still be talking about him, as well as his moon landing. Editor's Note: Neil Armstrong died on Aug. 25, 2012. He was 82. One year after his death, NASA recalled the iconic astronaut's legacy in a video tribute. The Truth About Neil Armstrong (Op-Ed) Here are some frequently asked questions about him: Who was Neil Armstrong? He is best known as being the first man to step on the moon (fellow astronaut Buzz Aldrin arrived at the moon at the same time, but was the second man to actually set foot on the lunar surface). Since Armstrong was the mission’s pilot, it’s also said that he was the first person to land a craft on the moon. Where was Neil Armstrong from? He was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio, on Aug. 5, 1930. His parents were Stephen Koenig Armstrong and Viola Louise Engel. What mission did Armstrong fly to the moon? Apollo 11 was the name of the first manned lunar landing mission. When was the first moon landing?

Apollo 11 touched down on the lunar surface on July 20, 1969. That was more than eight years after President John F. Kennedy gave his historic speech in which he said, “First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” Who was the first person in space? Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin orbited Earth on April 12, 1961, giving the Soviet Union a big victory in its Cold War space race against the United States. [ Giant Leaps: Top Milestones of Human Spaceflight ] NASA test pilot Neil Armstrong is seen here next to the X-15 ship #1 after a research flight. Credit: NASA Other facts in the history of Armstrong’s career: Armstrong was a naval aviator from 1949 to 1952. He served in the Korean War.

Well before he made spaceflight history, Armstrong got a bachelor of science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Purdue University in 1955 (later, he received a master of science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Southern California in 1970.) As a NASA test pilot , Armstrong flew the X-15, a rocket-powered, missile-shaped aircraft that tested the limits of high-altitude flight. He flew more than 200 different aircraft, from jets to gliders and even helicopters. Armstrong was the pilot of the Gemini 8 mission, launched March 16, 1966. He performed the first successful docking of two vehicles in space (Gemini 8 docked with a previously launched Agena rocket). After his time as an astronaut, Armstrong was Deputy Associate Administrator for Aeronautics at NASA Headquarters. From 1971-1979, he was Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Cincinnati. From 1982-1992, Armstrong was chairman of Computing Technologies for Aviation, Inc., Charlottesville, Va. Armstrong largely avoided the public spotlight after his astronaut days. But he remained a vocal supporter of suborbital spaceflight .

On the other hand, the former Apollo astronaut was publicly critical of plans to shift the crew-carrying burden in spaceflight from NASA to private spaceships. Related: Armstrong walks on moon - Jul 20, 1969 - HISTORY.com Armstrong walks on moon Publisher A+E Networks At 10:56 p.m. EDT, American astronaut Neil Armstrong, 240,000 miles from Earth, speaks these words to more than a billion people listening at home: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Stepping off the lunar landing module Eagle, Armstrong became the first human to walk on the surface of the moon. The American effort to send astronauts to the moon has its origins in a famous appeal President John F. Kennedy made to a special joint session of Congress on May 25, 1961: “I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth.” At the time, the United States was still trailing the Soviet Union in space developments, and Cold War-era America welcomed Kennedy’s bold proposal.

In 1966, after five years of work by an international team of scientists and engineers, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) conducted the first unmanned Apollo mission, testing the structural integrity of the proposed launch vehicle and spacecraft combination. Then, on January 27, 1967, tragedy struck at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, when a fire broke out during a manned launch-pad test of the Apollo spacecraft and Saturn rocket. Three astronauts were killed in the fire. Despite the setback, NASA and its thousands of employees forged ahead, and in October 1968, Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo mission, orbited Earth and successfully tested many of the sophisticated systems needed to conduct a moon journey and landing. In December of the same year, Apollo 8 took three astronauts to the dark side of the moon and back, and in March 1969 Apollo 9 tested the lunar module for the first time while in Earth orbit. Then in May, the three astronauts of Apollo 10 took the first complete Apollo spacecraft around the moon in a dry run for the scheduled July landing mission. At 9:32 a.m.

on July 16, with the world watching, Apollo 11 took off from Kennedy Space Center with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin Jr., and Michael Collins aboard. Armstrong, a 38-year-old civilian research pilot, was the commander of the mission. After traveling 240,000 miles in 76 hours, Apollo 11 entered into a lunar orbit on July 19. The next day, at 1:46 p.m., the lunar module Eagle, manned by Armstrong and Aldrin, separated from the command module, where Collins remained. Two hours later, the Eagle began its descent to the lunar surface, and at 4:18 p.m. the craft touched down on the southwestern edge of the Sea of Tranquility. Armstrong immediately radioed to Mission Control in Houston, Texas, a famous message: “The Eagle has landed.” At 10:39 p.m., five hours ahead of the original schedule, Armstrong opened the hatch of the lunar module. As he made his way down the lunar module’s ladder, a television camera attached to the craft recorded his progress and beamed the signal back to Earth, where hundreds of millions watched in great anticipation.

At 10:56 p.m., Armstrong spoke his famous quote, which he later contended was slightly garbled by his microphone and meant to be “that’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” He then planted his left foot on the gray, powdery surface, took a cautious step forward, and humanity had walked on the moon. “Buzz” Aldrin joined him on the moon’s surface at 11:11 p.m., and together they took photographs of the terrain, planted a U.S. flag, ran a few simple scientific tests, and spoke with President Richard M. Nixon via Houston. By 1:11 a.m. on July 21, both astronauts were back in the lunar module and the hatch was closed. The two men slept that night on the surface of the moon, and at 1:54 p.m. the Eagle began its ascent back to the command module.

Among the items left on the surface of the moon was a plaque that read: “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the moon–July 1969 A.D–We came in peace for all mankind.” At 5:35 p.m., Armstrong and Aldrin successfully docked and rejoined Collins, and at 12:56 a.m. on July 22 Apollo 11 began its journey home, safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean at 12:51 p.m. on July 24. There would be five more successful lunar landing missions, and one unplanned lunar swing-by, Apollo 13. The last men to walk on the moon, astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt of the Apollo 17 mission, left the lunar surface on December 14, 1972. The Apollo program was a costly and labor intensive endeavor, involving an estimated 400,000 engineers, technicians, and scientists, and costing $24 billion (close to $100 billion in today’s dollars).

The expense was justified by Kennedy’s 1961 mandate to beat the Soviets to the moon, and after the feat was accomplished ongoing missions lost their viability. Related Videos Apollo 11 Moon Landing 45 Years Ago on July 20, 1969: Relive the Moment! - With an Image Gallery and Watch the Restored EVA Here - Universe Today Apollo 11 Moon Landing 45 Years Ago on July 20, 1969: Relive the Moment! – With an Image Gallery and Watch the Restored EVA Here Article Updated: 23 Dec , 2015 by Ken Kremer The Eagle Prepares to Land The Apollo 11 Lunar Module Eagle, in a landing configuration was photographed in lunar orbit from the Command and Service Module Columbia. Inside the module were Commander Neil A. Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin. The long rod-like protrusions under the landing pods are lunar surface sensing probes. Upon contact with the lunar surface, the probes sent a signal to the crew to shut down the descent engine. Image Credit: NASA Watch the restored EVA video below and on NASA TV on July 20 starting at 10:39 p.m.

EDT[/caption] Man first walked on the Moon 45 years ago today on July 20, 1969 when American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin opened the hatch to the Apollo 11 Lunar Module Eagle, climbed down the ladder and set foot on the surface – marking mankind’s greatest achievement. They came in peace for all mankind! You can relive the historic moment with the gallery of Apollo 11 NASA images collected here and by watching NASA’s restored video of the moonwalk, or extravehicular activity (EVA) by Armstrong and Aldrin – watch video below. The Apollo 11 EVA began at 10:39:33 p.m. EDT. NASA TV is also broadcasting a replay of the historic moonwalk tonight (July 20) to commemorate the anniversary starting at 10:39 p.m. EDT, with the restored footage of Armstrong and Aldrin’s historic steps on the lunar surface. You can view the NASA TV Apollo 11 EVA webcast – here .

The Eagle had landed on the Moon’s desolate surface on the Sea of Tranquility (see map below) barely 6 hours earlier at 4:18 p.m EDT. And only 30 seconds of fuel remained as Armstrong searched for a safe landing spot. Neil Armstrong was the commander of the three man crew of Apollo 11, which included fellow moonwalker Buzz Aldrin and Command module pilot Michael Collins. Here is NASA’s restored video of the Apollo 11 EVA on July 20, 1969: Video Caption: Original Mission Video as aired in July 1969 depicting the Apollo 11 astronauts conducting several tasks during extravehicular activity (EVA) operations on the surface of the moon. The EVA lasted approximately 2.5 hours with all scientific activities being completed satisfactorily. The Apollo 11 EVA began at 10:39:33 p.m. EDT on July 20, 1969 when Astronaut Neil Armstrong emerged from the spacecraft first. While descending, he released the Modularized Equipment Stowage Assembly on the Lunar Module’s descent stage.

The trio blasted off atop a 363 foot-tall Saturn V rocket from Launch Complex 39A on their bold, quarter of a million mile moon mission from the Kennedy Space Center , Florida on July 16, 1969 to fulfill the lunar landing quest set by President John F. Kennedy early in the decade. The three-stage Saturn V generated 7.5 million pounds of thrust and propelled the trio into space and immortality. Apollo 11 Official Crew Portrait. Official crew photo of the Apollo 11 Prime Crew. From left to right are astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Commander; Michael Collins, Command Module Pilot; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module Pilot. Image Credit: NASA The Apollo 11 mission was truly a global event. Armstrong and Aldrin safely touched down at the Sea of Tranquility on the lunar surface on July 20, 1969 at 4:18 p.m EDT as hundreds of millions across the globe watched in awe and united in purpose. “Houston, Tranquility Base here.

The Eagle has landed !,” Armstrong called out and emotional applause erupted at Mission Control – “You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue.” Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong stands on the moon’s surface on July 20, 1969, the first human to do so. Credit: NASA/CBS/YouTube (screenshot) Armstrong carried all of humanity with him when he stepped off the footpad of NASA’s Apollo 11 Lunar Module and became the first representative of the human species to walk on the surface of another celestial body. Armstrong’s first immortal words: “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.” During their 2 ½ hours moonwalk Armstrong and Aldrin unveiled a plaque on the side of the lunar module. Armstrong read the words; “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon. July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.” On the Lunar Surface – Apollo 11 astronauts trained on Earth to take individual photographs in succession in order to create a series of frames that could be assembled into panoramic images.

This frame from fellow astronaut Buzz Aldrin’s panorama of the Apollo 11 landing site is the only good picture of mission commander Neil Armstrong on the lunar surface. Credit: NASA The duo collected about 50 pounds (22 kg) of priceless moon rocks and set out the first science experiments placed by humans on another world. The moon rocks were invaluable in informing us about the origin of the Earth – Moon system. Aldrin on the Moon. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin walks on the surface of the moon near the leg of the lunar module Eagle during the Apollo 11 mission. Mission commander Neil Armstrong took this photograph with a 70mm lunar surface camera. While astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin explored the Sea of Tranquility region of the moon, astronaut Michael Collins remained with the command and service modules in lunar orbit. Image Credit: NASA Altogether Armstrong and Aldrin spent about 21 hours on the moon’s surface. Then they said goodbye to the greatest adventure and fired up the LM ascent engine to rejoin Michael Collins circling above in the Apollo 11 Command Module.

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin plant the US flag on the Lunar Surface during 1st human moonwalk in history 45 years ago on July 20, 1969 during Apollo 1l mission. Credit: NASA Following the triumphant moonwalk and docking, the crew set their sights for the journey back to the Home Planet. Apollo 11 logo The Apollo 11 mission ended with a successful splash down off Hawaii on July 24. The crew, NASA and America achieved President Kennedy’s challenge of men walking on the Moon before the decade was out and returning safely to Earth. Armstrong passed away at age 82 on August 25, 2012 due to complications from heart bypass surgery. Read my prior tribute articles: here and here Surviving crew members Aldrin and Collins will join NASA Administrator Charles Bolden at a ceremony on Monday at the Kennedy Space Center. Bootprint. A close-up view of astronaut Buzz Aldrin’s bootprint in the lunar soil, photographed with the 70mm lunar surface camera during Apollo 11’s sojourn on the moon. Image Credit: NASA Altogether a dozen Americans have walked on the Moon during NASA’s five additional Apollo lunar landing missions.

No human has returned since the final crew of Apollo 17 departed the Moon’s surface in December 1972. One legacy of Apollo is the International Space Station (ISS) where six astronauts and cosmonauts work together on science research to benefit mankind. Notably, the Cygnus commercial cargo ship berthed at the ISS on the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 11 liftoff bringing over 3600 pounds of science experiments and supplies to the station. NASA’s next big human spaceflight goals are building commercial ‘space taxis’ to low Earth orbit in this decade, an asteroid retrieval mission in the 2020s and voyages to Mars in the 2030s using the new SLS rocket and Orion deep space crew capsule currently under development. Stay tuned here for Ken’s Earth & Planetary science and human spaceflight news. By Ken Kremer - Dr.

Ken Kremer is a speaker, research scientist, freelance science journalist (Princeton, NJ) and photographer whose articles, space exploration images and Mars mosaics have appeared in magazines, books, websites and calendars including Astronomy Picture of the Day, NBC, FOX, BBC, SPACE.com, Spaceflight Now, Science and the covers of Aviation Week & Space Technology, Spaceflight and the Explorers Club magazines. Ken has presented at numerous educational institutions, civic & religious organizations, museums and astronomy clubs. Ken has reported first hand from the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, NASA Wallops, NASA Michoud/Stennis/Langley and on over 70 launches including 8 shuttle launches. He lectures on both Human and Robotic spaceflight - Follow Ken on Facebook and Twitter NASA - The First Person on the Moon The First Person on the Moon 01.16.08 Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Mike Collins and Buzz Aldrin flew on the Apollo 11 mission. Image Credit: NASA It was 1961. John F. Kennedy was the president of the United States. He wanted to land humans on the moon. The United States had just started trying to put people in space.

Was NASA ready to go to the moon? The president and NASA knew they could do it. They were ready to put people on the moon. Apollo 11's mission was to land two men on the moon. They also had to come back to Earth safely. Apollo 11 blasted off on July 16, 1969. Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins were the astronauts on Apollo 11. Four days later, Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon. They landed on the moon in the Lunar Module. It was called the Eagle. Collins stayed in orbit around the moon. He did experiments and took pictures. The sign the astronauts left on the moon says, "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon July 1969, A.D. We came in peace for all mankind." Image Credit: NASA On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human to step on the moon. He and Aldrin walked around for three hours. They did experiments. They picked up bits of moon dirt and rocks. They put a U.S. flag on the moon. They also left a sign on the moon.

The two astronauts returned to orbit, joining Collins. On July 24, 1969, all three astronauts came back to Earth safely. President Kennedy's wish came true. It took less than 10 years. Humans had walked on the moon.

Question: What was the name of the first human spaceflight to land on the moon, in July 1969?
Answer: Apollo 11