Apollo 11: Memories of the first moon landing

One of the first footsteps on the moon. Walking on its surface, Neil Armstrong uttered one of the most famous quotes of all: "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." How and when he came up with this sentence himself, and whether he forgot a (relatively important) vocal ⁠— the 'a' ⁠— is still being discussed today.

But lets go back: From the control room of the Kennedy Space Flight Center (KSC), the director of the Apollo program, Samuel C. Phillips, monitors the activities before the launch. Apollo 11, the first lunar landing mission, was launched on July 16, 1969 with a Saturn V launch vehicle. On board the spacecraft: Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins.

These three were among the thousands of people camping on beaches and streets next to the Kennedy Space Center, NASA's spaceport in Florida, to follow the launch of the Apollo at close range. About one million people visited the space area to see the historic flight.

But not only thousands of excited people were present, also thousands of journalists reported on the launch of the Apollo 11 mission. A total of 3497 journalists were officially registered, all of them gathered at the press area of the Kennedy Space Flight Center (KSC). The rocket took off on July 16, 1969.

This photo was taken by Michael Collins. You can see the lunar module Eagle returning from the moon, behind it the moon itself and on its horizon the earth. While Armstrong and Aldrin were the first humans to step foot on the moon, Collins maintained his position in the Columbia Command Modul. He orbited the Moon alone for 21.5 hours.

In a NASA statement in 2009 Collins said, "I feel very much a part of what is taking place on the lunar surface. I know that I would be a liar or a fool if I said that I have the best of the three Apollo 11 seats, but I can say with truth and equanimity that I am perfectly satisfied with the one I have."

On July 20, 1969 at 20:17:58 UTC, Neil Armstrong transmitted briefly: "The eagle has landed!". But it still took some time until the two of them actually stepped on the moon. First of all, the flight back had to be prepared. On July 21 at 2:56:20 UTC the big moment finally arrived: Neil Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface.

During 2.5 hours of surface exploration, Armstrong and Aldrin collected 47 pounds of lunar surface material that they brought back to Earth. This small chunk is part of it. During the six Apollo excursions, 2415 samples were collected, almost 400 kilograms. The collected works and their descriptions are listed in the "Lunar Sample and Photo Catalog".

Not only samples were collected, but all kinds of stuff was left behind. This brooch by Neil Armstrong is one of the more symbolic objects. The olive branch (less than half a foot in length) represents peace. But you can also stumble over golf balls, a family photo with camera, works by Andy Warhol or a falcon feather. Oh, and beware of astronaut excrement.

The crew landed safely in the Pacific ocean, about 812 nautical miles southwest of Hawaii and 12 nautical miles from the USS Hornet. After their arrival, the astronauts had to fill out a customs form and declare their moon rock. When asked for their disease exposure status, they wrote: "to be determined". They were transported in a quarantine trailer where they were isolated for 21 days.

Well, obviously the astronauts of the Apollo 11 mission don't wear space suits here, but sombreros and ponchos. Fiesta Mexikana! A 45-day tour following the space mission took the astronauts to 24 countries and 27 cities. The US wanted to emphasize their willingness to share their space knowledge. The astronauts were celebrated like superstars like here in Mexico City.