40th Anniversary of Apollo 11 Landing on the Moon!

July 20, 1969
 
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy challenged America;  He said, the U.S. should work quickly, to meet a goal, of sending Americans to the Moon before the end of the decade.. The goal was extremely ambitious and expensive, but America was ready.

The U.S. did meet the goal. And it only took eight years. On July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 launched towards the Moon. Three astronauts were destined for history; They were Neil Armstrong, Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin, and Michael Collins.

A few days later, Apollo 11 began to orbit around the Moon. On July 20, 1969, Armstrong and Aldrin took the Lunar Module to the Moon, Michael Collins remained in Lunar orbit.  The name of the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) was "Eagle."  

What did the Astronauts say, when they landed on the moon?

"Houston, this is Tranquility Base, The Eagle has landed."

On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong put his left foot on the rocky Moon. His famous words echo thru time;

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." 

Armstrong's,  size 9 1/2 moon boot, was the first human footprint on the Moon; TV Cameras recorded the event live to more than 500 million earthlings, watching on Earth.

 The Moon landing had the largest television viewership, worldwide, of any broadcast till that time.

Both Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the Moon. 

Rock and dirt samples were brought back, to Earth, from the Moon, for scientific examination. 

The LEM (Lunar Excursion Module) fired, its propulsion system, successfully, returning the Lunar Pioneers to the Command Module, with Collins, orbiting the Moon.  Part of the LEM remains on the Moon today.

After docking, the LEM was eventually left to wander thru Space, while the Command Module safely brought the astronauts back to Earth.

Apollo 11 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24, 1969.

The astronauts arrived, home on Earth, to a heroes welcome.

July 20, 1969

Walter Cronkite reports the Moon Landing 

  APOLLO 11 First Moon Landing

To listen to the replay, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/apollo11_radio

For historical information about Apollo 11, visit: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/history/apollo/apollo11

NASA's Apollo 40th anniversary Web site provides easy access to various agency resources and multimedia about the program and the history of human spaceflight, including a gallery of Apollo multimedia features.

The site is online at: http://www.nasa.gov/apollo40th

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