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September 30, 2024
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jul 21, 1969 - First Men on the Moon

Description:

In 1969, the Space Race between America and the Soviet Union ultimately reached its peak with a historic achievement. Up to this point, although both nations had done a great deal in the way of space exploration, it was the Soviet Union that reached many of the "firsts". This was now about to change as the United States put considerable work and investment into their Apollo program. Since 1962, one of the main missions of America's space agency, known as NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), was to get a human to land safely on the surface of the Moon and then return.

After much research and numerous tests, the Apollo 11 mission finally began when Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins were launched into space on 16th July 1969. For nearly four days, these three men travelled in the Apollo spacecraft across 240,000 miles (386,000 km) before finally reaching the Moon's orbit. Then, on 20th July, Armstrong and Aldrin left the orbiting craft in the Lunar Module Eagle and landed on the Moon at 20:17 UTC. Around six-and-a-half hours later, Neil Armstrong exited the module and stepped foot on the surface of the Moon at 02:56 UTC on 21st July 1969, becoming the first human in history to make contact with another celestial body.

Buzz Aldrin then joined him on the surface, and the two men conducted various tests for over twenty hours before climbing back into the Eagle and rejoining the Apollo craft in orbit. Eventually they made their way back to Earth on 24th July, completing the Apollo 11 mission.

Added to timeline:

Date:

jul 21, 1969
Now
~ 55 years ago

Images: