A NASA technician at left checks instruments inside a van to Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A for a pre-flight test
A NASA technician at left checks instruments inside a van to Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A for a pre-flight test. The three Apollo 11 astronauts (back to front)—mission commander Neil Armstrong, Lunar Module pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and Command and Service Module pilot Michael Collins—prepare for the ride of their lives.
NASA

One Giant Leap

Photography from the NASA Archive
July 2009
Proceedings
Vol. 135/7/1,277
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Those of you who are a certain age likely remember where you were on the night of 20 July 1969. Grainy pictures from the Sea of Tranquility were broadcast live, as the mission's commander, Neil Armstrong, descended the Lunar Module's ladder that night at 2256 Eastern Daylight Time, becoming the first human to touch the lunar surface. The mission came less than seven years after President John F. Kennedy told the world in a speech to students at Rice University: "We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things." The editors and staff of Proceedings hereby proudly pay a 40th anniversary pictorial tribute to the pioneers of Apollo 11.

Launch of Apollo 11 Saturn V rocket
At 0937 Eastern Daylight Time on 16 July 1969, the liquid-propellant Saturn V rocket (taller than a 36-story building) launched the Apollo 11 mission into space.
NASA
Earthrise seen from Apollo 11
The crew captured “Earthrise” from the spacecraft before descending to the Moon surface. At 1617 the afternoon of 20 July, Armstrong reported to Houston: “Tranquility Base here, the Eagle has landed.”
NASA
Television still of Neil Armstrong descending onto the moon
With the world watching, Armstrong descends the ladder of the Lunar Module Eagle to the surface. “That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind.” It was one of the most widely watched broadcasts in television history.
NASA
Landing pads of the LLM Eagle on the lunar surface
Armstrong’s first photo from the Moon surface shows one of the Eagle’s landing pads in the foreground of the crater-pocked lunar surface.
NASA
Neil Armstrong checking the LLM's modular equipment storage assembly.
In one of the few photos of Armstrong on the surface (most of the photography was taken by Armstrong of Aldrin), he checks the spacecraft’s modular equipment storage assembly, housing the camera that had recorded his first step on the Moon.
NASA
Buzz Aldrin in front of the Eagle on the moon
Aldrin appears with his back to the camera in front the Eagle, giving an idea of the size of the Lunar Module.
NASA
Apollo 11 Lunar Module returning to the Command Module from the surface of the moon.
After 2 hours and 31 minutes on the lunar surface, the astronauts climbed back on board the Lunar Module and launched at 1354 Eastern Daylight Time on 21 July 1969 to link up with the Columbia Command and Service Module. Columbia pilot Michael Collins orbited the Moon for 28 hours, photographing its surface and transmitting communications between the Lunar Module and Houston.
NASA
NASA and Manned Spacecraft Center officials and flight controllers light cigars to celebrate the conclusion of the Apollo 11 mission.
NASA and Manned Spacecraft Center officials and flight controllers light cigars to celebrate the conclusion of the Apollo 11 mission.
NASA
Sailors on board the prime recovery ship, the USS Hornet (CVS-12), remove the flotation ring that had been attached by Navy divers to the Command and Service Module after splashdown.
Sailors on board the prime recovery ship, the USS Hornet (CVS-12), remove the flotation ring that had been attached by Navy divers to the Command and Service Module after splashdown.
NASA

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