45 years ago, man set foot on the moon

On July 16, 1969, NASA’s Apollo 11 spacecraft launched to land humans on the Moon for the first time. After years of effort and dangerous testing, humanity made a major breakthrough by landing on the Moon, and the event was broadcast live on television to millions of viewers around the world.

Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin “Buzz” E. Aldrin left Earth on Wednesday (July 16, 1969) and landed on the Moon on Sunday (July 20, 1969), spending more than two hours walking on the lunar surface, conducting experiments and collecting samples, and then splashing down safely in the Pacific Ocean the following Thursday (July 24, 1969), ending an epic eight-day journey. Here are 45 historic photos of a mission that was considered “a giant leap for mankind,” exactly 45 years ago.

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin walks on the lunar surface near the base of the Lunar Module (LM) “Eagle” during external work on the Apollo 11 spacecraft, July 20, 1969. Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, commander, took this photograph with a 70mm camera. While Armstrong and Aldrin went outside to explore the Sea of ​​Tranquility region of the Moon, astronaut Michael Collins remained aboard the Command and Service Module (CSM) “Columbia” in lunar orbit.

The Apollo 11 crew, photographed on April 14, 1969. From left: Commander Neil A. Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin “Buzz” E. Aldrine, Jr.

Aerial photo shows the Saturn V rocket preparing for the Apollo 11 mission, May 20, 1969.

Apollo 11 crew members and Donal K. “Deke” Slayton with a traditional steak and egg breakfast, July 16, 1969.

A technician sits atop the “white room,” through which astronauts pass to enter the spacecraft, July 11, 1969.

Neil Armstrong (in the lead) and the two remaining members of the Apollo 11 crew walk toward the vehicle that will take them to the launch pad for the moon mission at Kennedy Space Center, Merritt Island, Florida, July 16, 1969.

Berliners stand in front of a TV shop and look through the window to watch the first moments of the Apollo 11 space mission on television, June 16, 1969, Berlin, Germany.

The Saturn V rocket carrying Apollo 11 lifts off from the launch pad on July 16, 1969. Fully fueled for liftoff, the Saturn V weighed 2,800 tons and generated about 34.5 million newtons of thrust at launch.

US Vice President Spiro Agnew and former US President Lyndon B. Johnson, stand in a crowd watching the Apollo 11 launch at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, July 16, 1969.

The moment Apollo 11 launched, seen from an Air Force EC-135N aircraft.

Photo of Earth with clouds covering the water taken from Apollo 11.

Photographed inside the Lunar Module of Apollo 11 with pilot Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., during the lunar landing mission. Photograph taken by Neil A. Armstrong, commander, before landing on the Moon.

Image of the Lunar Module and Earth on the right during three days of orbiting the Moon.

Jan Armstrong smiles as she holds a photo of her husband, Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong, during a television broadcast from the spacecraft and sent back to Earth, July 18, 1969. In the back seat is their son, Mark, 6.

To the Moon's orbit, image of the western surface of Daedalus crater.

Earth rising (we often say Moon rising). A photograph taken from the Apollo 11 spacecraft shows the Earth rising above the Moon's horizon.

CSM “Columbia” over the craters Taruntius K, Taruntius P, and Dorsum Cayeux. Partially visible are the craters Anvil and Taruntius H.

Spacecraft radio operators maintain communication with the Apollo 11 astronauts during the Moon landing mission, July 20, 1969. From left to right are astronauts Charles M. Duke Jr., James A. Lovell Jr., and Fred W. Haise Jr.

Apollo 11 Lunar Module (LM) “Eagle” in landing position photographed in lunar orbit from CSM “Columbia”. Inside the Lunar Module are Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin. The rod-like protrusions below the landing legs are lunar surface sensors. Upon contact with the lunar surface, they will send a signal to the astronauts to shut down the landing engines.

Messier and Messier A craters seen from the Lunar Module (Armstrong's window).

Astronaut Neil Armstrong steps onto the surface of the Moon, July 20, 1969.

In Paris, France, a family watches as US astronaut Neil Armstrong, commander of the Apollo 11 spacecraft, takes his first steps on the Moon, July 20, 1969. Hundreds of millions of people around the world watched the event on television.

The first photo of Neil Armstrong, after landing on the Moon, July 20, 1969.

Shallow Crater near the Lunar Module.

One of the first footsteps on the Moon, this is a photo of Buzz Aldrin's footprints.

Buzz Aldrin's shadow and part of the Moon's surface.

Buzz Aldrin salutes the flag during his Apollo 11 lunar walk. Neil Armstrong took this photo with a Hasselblad camera with a 70mm lens.

A crowd gathers in New York's Central Park to watch the Apollo 11 moon landing, July 20, 1969.

Aldrin removes an experimental device from the Lunar Module.

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin carries experimental equipment in preparation for deployment.

Aldrin assembles parts of the Passive Seismic Experiment Package, a device used to measure lunar tremors.

A family in Tokyo, Japan, watches TV as President Richard Nixon appears on a live television broadcast of the Apollo 11 astronauts sending greetings from the Moon, July 1969.

Neil Armstrong photographed the landing area from a distance.

The Lunar Module in preparation for liftoff from the lunar surface, while still on the Moon, with an image of Earth overhead.

The ladder on the Lunar Module and the memorial plaque. The plaque reads: “Here were men from the Earth who first set foot upon the Moon, July 1969, AD We came in peace for all men.”

Astronaut Neil Armstrong, returning to the Lunar Module, after his historic walk on the Moon.

After lifting off from the Moon, the Lunar Module heads toward CSM “Columbia” for docking, with Earth in the background.

Photo of the full moon during Apollo 11's return home.

Earth appears larger through the window of the Command Module Columbia during Apollo 11's return to Earth.

Apollo 11 crew members are loaded into a rescue plane after successfully landing in the Pacific Ocean, July 24, 1969.

Apollo 11 mission control engineers wave flags in celebration of the successful completion of the mission, July 24, 1969.

President Richard M. Nixon stands inside the Pacific Recovery Area to welcome the Apollo 11 astronauts aboard the USS Hornet. Inside the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) are (from left) Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. Apollo 11 splashed down at 11:49 a.m. CDT on July 24, 1969, approximately 812 nautical miles southwest of Hawaii and just 12 nautical miles from the USS Hornet.

New Yorkers line 42nd Avenue to welcome the Apollo 11 astronauts, August 13, 1969. In the lead car from left are: Edwin Aldrin, Michael Collins and Neil Armstrong, who waves to the crowd. The motorcade moves east on 42nd Avenue toward the United Nations building.

Apollo 11 astronauts, wearing sombreros and ponchos, are surrounded by thousands of people in Mexico City as their motorcade slowly makes its way through the crowds on what is called the Presidential Goodwill Tour. The trip will take the Apollo 11 crew members and their wives through 24 countries and 27 cities over 45 days.

Neil Armstrong and his wife and two sons, Ricky and Mark, are covered by telegraph wires as they walk down Main Street in downtown Houston, during a parade to honor the astronauts, August 16, 1969.

Source: The Atlantic