First Humans on the Moon July 20,1969

For readers of a certain age who were mesmerized by the idea of space travel, the United States’ space program culminated during the summer of 1969 when NASA’s Apollo 11 mission thrilled every American and just about every other human on the planet as the spacecraft’s Lunar Excursion Module (LEM or LM for short) touched down on the surface of the Moon.

“Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.”

With those words, every person who was tuned into the radio or television, but especially the NASA folks in the Mission Operations Control Room at the Johnson Space Flight Center in Houston, Texas, and of course the families of the astronauts, let out the collective breath they had held since the LM began its descent to the surface. That brief transmission told us that Commander Neil A. Armstrong, and LM pilot Edwin E. (Buzz) Aldrin, Jr., landed safely on the Moon as Command Module Pilot Michael Collins continued to orbit above in Columbia.

The excitement built up again about six hours later when Armstrong and Aldrin began their extravehicular activity (EVA) during which Armstrong became the first human in history to ever set foot on the surface of another planetary body.

“I'm going to step off the LM now. That's one small step for man. One giant leap for mankind,” were the words Armstrong spoke as he stepped off the ladder and onto the Moon’s surface. Aldrin joined him about 15 minutes later. The United States as a nation together with a global community of spacefaring pioneers commemorate this event 55 years later, and probably will for the rest of human history.

NASA will be celebrating the historic event with a variety of in-person and virtual activities during the period of Monday July 15 through Thursday July 25. The complete schedule of programs is available by following the first link below. The other link provides a wealth of good information about the Apollo 11 mission including video and audio recordings. 

FMI:  www.nasa.gov , www.nasa.gov/mission/apollo-11/