This month marks the 47th anniversary of Apollo 11’s historic flight into outer space. It’s mission? For astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to become the first humans to ever set foot on the moon. Pilot Michael Collins remained in the Command Module. They achieved this feat on July 20, 1969.
In May of 1962, President John F Kennedy expressed concern that our country was falling behind the Soviet Union in both technology and prestige. Putting a man on the moon before the end of the decade would change that. He was right. When the command module Columbia returned safely to earth, on July 24, 1969, the president’s objective was accomplished.
The Lunar Module, nicknamed the “Eagle,” touched down on the moon’s surface at Tranquility Base. Armstrong reported “The Eagle has landed.” After taking his first step, he said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” The Apollo camera broadcast this event to the world.
It created an ecstatic reaction. More than half the world’s population was aware of the mission’s success. The Soviet Union tried to jam Voice of America radio broadcasts, but word spread through newspapers and TV.
The crew spent 2.5 hours conducting experiments and collecting lunar surface material, then unveiled a plaque affixed to a leg of the descent ladder and read aloud, “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon, July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.” It was signed by Armstrong, Collins, Aldrin, and President Richard Nixon.
The astronauts also planted an American flag on the moon and received a call from President Nixon, who called it the “most historic telephone call ever made.”
The National Air and Space Museum holds approximately 3,500 space artifacts from the historic Apollo moon-landing effort, with 400 objects related specifically to the Apollo 11 mission.
Excitement has risen again for space fans. Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon and a self-described space enthusiast, has used his personal finances to search that Atlantic Ocean for the five engines that thrust the Apollo 11 astronauts into space.
Bezos’ salvage team found five of the Eagle’s engines 14,000 feet below the surface of the sea on March 28, 2012. He hopes to retrieve at least one of them so it can join other artifacts in the museum.
