Exploration · 1969
Apollo 11: humans on the Moon
Kennedy Space Center, Florida (launch site)
Launched on a Saturn V rocket from Kennedy Space Center on 16 July 1969, Apollo 11 carried Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin to the Moon. On 20 July Armstrong and Aldrin landed the lunar module Eagle in the Sea of Tranquility while Collins orbited in the command module Columbia; Armstrong became the first human to walk on the Moon, and the crew returned to Earth on 24 July with 21.5 kg of lunar material.
Why it mattered
The landing was the culmination of the US–Soviet Space Race and fulfilled President Kennedy's 1961 challenge to land a man on the Moon before the end of the decade.
Related
- The world in 1960: The Year of Africa chapter
- Cuban Missile Crisis previous moment · 1962
- The Internet: ARPANET and TCP/IP next moment · 1969–1983