THE MOON LANDING
JUST THE FACTS
The Big Picture
On July 20th, 1969, the Apollo 11 became the first ever manned space craft to land on the moon. This was a magnificent accomplishment that was immortalized with the quote "This is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind," by Neil Armstrong. The space craft itself was launched on July 16th from the Kennedy Space Center and returned July 24 for a total trip of eight days, three hours, and eight-teen minutes.
How It Went Down
The three men that took part in the Apollo 11 mission were Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin. On July 20, four days after lift off, Armstrong and Aldrin broke away from the command module, Columbia, which was then being piloted by Collins. Armstrong and Aldrin then manned the Lunar module, Eagle, while Collins stayed in orbit around the Moon.
The Landing
This was a real photo taken on the moon of Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong with the American flag.
Eagle
The Eagle was the Lunar module that actually landed on the moon.
Columbia
Columbia was the module that stayed in orbit and was piloted by Micheal Collins.
Real Footage
First Moon Landing 1969
Coming Home
on July 21, the Eagle left the moon and reattached with Columbia. Two days later the crew and ship landed in the Pacific Ocean about 900 miles off the cost of Hawaii. When the crew was recovered, they were all immediately put into quarantine until August 10th. The mission was a huge success for both scientific and political advancement. Not only were the Americans able to create the technology that put a man on the moon, but they also did it faster than the Soviet Union, winning the Space Race.