"Houston, Tranquility Base here, the Eagle has landed." "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." "Magnificent desolation." Three phrases that recall humanity's first landing on and exploration of the lunar surface. In July 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin completed humanity's first landing on the Moon. They fulfilled President John F. Kennedy's national goal, set in May 1961, to land a man on the Moon and return him safely to the Earth before the end of the decade. Scientists began examining the first Moon rocks two days after the Apollo 11 splashdown while the astronauts began a three-week postflight quarantine.
Just another day at the office. Apollo 11 astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, left, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin arrive for work at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida four days before launch.
Left: Buzz, Mike, and Neil study their flight plans one more time. Middle: Neil and Buzz in the Lunar Module simulator. Right: Mike gets in some flying a few days before launch.
Buzz, Neil, and Mike look very relaxed as they talk to reporters in a virtual press conference on July 14.
Left: The crew. Middle: The patch. Right: The crew conquer the Moon, a TIME LIFE photograph.
Left: Breakfast, the most important meal if you're going to the Moon. Middle: Proper attire for lunar travel. Right: Wave good-bye to all your friends and supporters before you head for the launch pad.
Left: Engineers in the Launch Control Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida monitor the countdown. Middle: Once the rocket clears the launch tower, they turn control over to another team and they can watch it ascend into the sky. Right: Engineers in the Mission Control Center at the Manned Spacecraft Center, now NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, take over control of the flight once the tower is clear.
Left: Lady Bird, LBJ, and VP Agnew in the VIP stands. Right: A million more camped out along the beaches to see the historic launch.
July 16, 1969. And we're off!! Liftoff from Launch Pad 39A.
Left: The American flag is pictured in the foreground as the Saturn V rocket for the historic Apollo 11 mission soars through the sky. Middle: First stage separation for Apollo 11. Right: Made it to orbit!
Left: Hey, don't forget your LM! Middle: Buzz in the LM: "S'allright?" "S'allright!" Right: As the world turns smaller.
Left: Hello Moon! Middle left: Hello Earth! Middle right: See you soon, Columbia! Right: See you soon, Eagle! Happy landing!
July 20, 1969. Left: Magnificent desolation, from Buzz's window after landing. Middle: Neil takes THE first step. Right: First image taken from the lunar surface.
Left: Neil grabs a contingency sample, just in case. Middle left: Buzz joins the party. Middle right: Neil and Buzz read the plaque. Right: Buzz sets up the solar wind experiment.
Left: Buzz and Neil set up the flag. Middle left: Neil takes that famous photo of Buzz. Middle right: You know, this famous photo! Right: Often misidentified as Neil's first footprint, it's actually Buzz's to test the lunar soil.
Left: Buzz had the camera for a while and snapped one of the few photos of Neil on the surface. Middle left: Buzz, the seismometer, and the LM. Middle right: The LM and the laser retroreflector. Right: One of two photos from the surface that show both Buzz, the main subject, and Neil, the reflection.
Neil took a stroll to Little West Crater and took several photos, spliced together into this pano.
Left: Neil after the spacewalk, tired but satisfied. Middle left: Ditto for Buzz. Middle right: The flag from Buzz's window before they went to sleep. Right: The same view, and the flag moved! Not aliens, it settled in the loose lunar regolith overnight.
July 21, 1969. Left: Liftoff, the Eagle has wings again! Middle left: Eagle approaches Columbia, and incidentally everyone alive at the time is in this picture, except for Mike who took it. Middle right: On the way home, the Moon gets smaller. Right: And the Earth gets bigger.
July 24, 1969. Left: Splashdown, as captured from a recovery helicopter. Middle: Upside down in Stable 2, before balloons inflated to right the spacecraft. Right: Wearing his Biological Isolation Garment (BIG), Clancy Hatleberg, the decontamination officer, sets up his decontamination canisters. He's already handed the astronauts their BIGs, who are donning them inside the spacecraft.
Left: Hatleberg, left, with Neil, Buzz, and Mike in the decontamination raft. Middle: Taken by U.S. Navy UDT swimmer Mike Mallory in a nearby raft, Hatleberg prepares to capture the Billy Pugh net for Neil, while Buss and Mike wave to Mallory. Right: The same scene, taken from the recovery helicopter, the Billy Pugh net visible at the bottom of the photo.
Left: Once aboard the U.S.S. Hornet, Mike, Neil, and Buzz wearing their BIGs walk the 10 steps from the Recovery One helicopter to the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF), with NASA flight surgeon Dr. William Carpentier, in orange suit, following behind. Middle left: NASA engineer John Hirasaki filmed the astronauts as they entered the MQF. Middle right: Changed from their BIGs into flight suits, Mike, Neil, and Buzz chat with President Nixon through the MQF's window. Right: Neil, playing the ukelele, Buzz, and Mike inside the MQF.
