Man on the Moon

On July 20, 1969, at 20:17:40 UTC, US astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to step onto the surface of the moon. Millions watch as Apollo 11 basted off from Kennedy Space Center at 9:37 am on July 16. It entered orbit 12 minutes later. After one and a half orbits, the third-stage engine pushed the spacecraft onto its trajectory toward the Moon. Aboard were mission commander Neil Armstrong, lunar module pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and command module pilot Michael Collins. On July 19 Apollo 11 passed behind the Moon and fired its service propulsion engine to enter lunar orbit. In the thirty orbits that followed, the crew saw passing views of their landing site in the southern Sea of Tranquility, a spot chosen because it had been characterized as relatively flat and smooth by automated Landers

On July 20, 1969 the lunar module Eagle separated from the command module Columbia. Collins, alone aboard Columbia, inspected Eagle as it spun before him to ensure the craft was not damaged. About 300 ft. above the Moon’s surface, Armstrong noticed that they were heading towards a boulder strewn crater and took over from the computer to guide the computer to guide the module to a flatter area. Buzz Aldrin spoke the first words from the lunar module on the lunar surface. Throughout the descent Aldrin had called out navigation data to Armstrong, who was busy piloting the lunar module. As Eagle landed Aldrin said, "Contact light! Okay, engine stop, ACA - out of detent." Armstrong acknowledged "Out of detent" and Aldrin continued, "Mode control - both auto. Descent engine command override off, Engine arm - off. 413 is in.” Then Armstrong said the famous words "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."

It took six hours of rest and preparation before Armstrong and Aldrin were ready to climb out of the module. At 02:56 UTC on July 21, Armstrong made his descent to the Moon's surface and spoke his famous line "That's one small