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Sunday, July 20, 2014

Neil Armstrong(USA) Walks On Moon July 20,1969 -45th Anniversary

 
 This July 21, 1969 file photo shows the front page of the New York Times after Apollo 11 landed on the moon. The 45th anniversary of the lunar landing is Sunday, July 20, 2014.

 At 9:32 a.m. on July 16,1969 with the world watching, Apollo 11 took off from Kennedy Space Center with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin Jr., and Michael Collins aboard.

 

On July 20,1969 at 10:56 p.m. EDT, American astronaut Neil Armstrong, 240,000 miles from Earth, speaks these words to more than a billion people listening at home: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Stepping off the lunar landing module Eagle, Armstrong became the first human to walk on the surface of the moon.

Neil Armstrong, a 38-year-old civilian research pilot, was the commander of the mission. After traveling 240,000 miles in 76 hours, Apollo 11 entered into a lunar orbit on July 19. The next day, at 1:46 p.m., the lunar module Eagle, manned by Armstrong and Aldrin, separated from the command module, where Collins remained. Two hours later, the Eagle began its descent to the lunar surface, and at 4:18 p.m. the craft touched down on the southwestern edge of the Sea of Tranquility. Armstrong immediately radioed to Mission Control in Houston, Texas, a famous message: "The Eagle has landed."

At 10:39 p.m., five hours ahead of the original schedule, Armstrong opened the hatch of the lunar module. As he made his way down the lunar module's ladder, a television camera attached to the craft recorded his progress and beamed the signal back to Earth, where hundreds of millions watched in great anticipation.


At 10:56 p.m., Armstrong spoke his famous quote, which he later contended was slightly garbled by his microphone and meant to be "that's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." He then planted his left foot on the gray, powdery surface, took a cautious step forward, and humanity had walked on the moon.


"Buzz" Aldrin joined him on the moon's surface at 11:11 p.m., and together they took photographs of the terrain, planted a U.S. flag, ran a few simple scientific tests, and spoke with President Richard M. Nixon via Houston.



 By 1:11 a.m. on July 21, both astronauts were back in the lunar module and the hatch was closed.
The two men slept that night on the surface of the moon, and at 1:54 p.m. the Eagle began its ascent back to the command module.

 Among the items left on the surface of the moon was a plaque that read: "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the moon--July 1969 A.D--We came in peace for all mankind."


At 5:35 p.m.,Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin successfully docked and rejoined Michael Collins, and at 12:56 a.m. on July 22,1969 Apollo 11 began its journey home, safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean at 12:51 p.m. on July 24,1969




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