On July 20, 1969, astronauts in the Apollo 11 Mission landed on the moon, and the first humans walked on another world. People from around the world watched on live television in breathless anticipation of one of humankind’s great accomplishments, which still seems amazing looking back at the level of technology across nearly half a century ago.
On that date, the Lunar Module Eagle separated from the Command Module Columbia, which was being piloted by Michael Collins. On board the Eagle were Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.
NASA had originally planned for the astronauts to sleep after the Eagle landed. But with everyone wanting to move forward, Armstrong and Aldrin instead began preparing to walk on the moon.
After several hours, Armstrong emerged from the hatch. As he took the first step on the moon, he uttered the famous words: “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Many listeners did not hear the word “a” that Armstrong meant to say, which affects the meaning of the sentence. So experts still debate whether or not he said the word.
About twenty minutes after Armstrong’s first step, Aldrin joined him on the moon. The two men spent 21 hours, 36 minutes on the moon’s surface before the Eagle ascended to join the Columbia for the trip back to earth.
This short NASA video features footage that television viewers saw during the landing. To really appreciate the accomplishment, try to take yourself back to 1969 when the outcome was uncertain. And remember when we recognized that human beings could do some pretty amazing things.
Where were you when people first walked on the moon? Leave your two cents in the comments. Photo via public domain.
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