Apollo 11

About

Apollo 11 was a historic space mission launched by NASA on July 16, 1969. It was the first spaceflight to successfully land humans on the Moon, marking a significant milestone in space exploration. The mission was crewed by astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, and Michael Collins. They traveled aboard the Apollo spacecraft, which consisted of a command module named Columbia and a lunar module named Eagle. The spacecraft was launched from Kennedy Space Center using a Saturn V rocket. On July 20, 1969, Armstrong and Aldrin landed Eagle in the Sea of Tranquility. Armstrong became the first person to step onto the Moon's surface, famously declaring, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." The astronauts spent about two and a half hours exploring the lunar surface, collecting samples, and deploying scientific instruments. After completing their lunar mission, they rejoined Collins in Columbia and returned to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24, 1969. The mission fulfilled President John F. Kennedy's 1961 goal of landing humans on the Moon before the decade ended.