Who was the first man in history to explore the moon on july 20th, 1969?

Space Exploration The third stage of the Saturn then fired to start the crew on their 376,400-km (234,000-mile) journey to the Moon. The three Columbia, and its attached service module around and then extracting the lunar module from its resting place above the Saturn’s third stage. On their arrival the astronauts slowed the Eagle On the morning of July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin crawled from the command module through an interconnecting tunnel into the lunar module, Columbia, piloted by Collins, and Eagle, occupied by Armstrong and Aldrin. By firing Eagle’s propulsion system, the two astronauts changed from their nearly circular orbit to an elliptical course whose closest approach to the Moon was only 15,000 metres (50,000 feet). At this low point they again fired their engine, this time to undergo the powered descent initiation maneuver. Five times during the descent, the guidance computer triggered an alarm (called “1202” or “1201”) that its memory was full, but NASA For about a minute and a half, Armstrong hovered Eagle, moving it laterally with the reaction control system until he found a clear area on which to descend. Then the contact light went on inside the cockpit, as the 172-cm (68-inch) probes dangling below Eagle’s footpads signaled contact with the ground. One second later the pm U.S. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.” Eagle had touched down in the At 10:56 pm EDT on July 20, Armstrong stepped out onto the lunar...

One museum, two locations Visit us in Washington, DC and Chantilly, VA to explore hundreds of the world’s most significant objects in aviation and space history. Free timed-entry passes are required for the Museum in DC. At the museum and online Discover our exhibitions and participate in programs both in person or virtually. Dive deep into air and space Browse our collections, stories, research, and on demand content. For teachers and parents Bring the Air and Space Museum to your learners, wherever you are. Be the spark Your support will help fund exhibitions, educational programming, and preservation efforts. Over half a century ago, on July 20, 1969, humans walked on the Moon for the first time. We look back at the legacy of our first small steps on the Moon and look forward to the next giant leap. Jump to a Section: The Mission 1962 "We choose to go to the Moon." The Soviet Union launched the first human, Yuri Gagarin, into space on April 12, 1961. Within days of the Soviet achievement, President John F. Kennedy asked Vice President Lyndon Johnson to identify a “space program which promises dramatic results in which we could win.” A little over a month later, on May 25, 1961, Kennedy stood before a joint session of Congress and called for human exploration to the Moon. Read more Apollo speeches Choosing a Moon Rocket About the rocket A Soviet Moonshot? Explore diaries Three Approaches to Landing on the Moon The approaches July 16, 1969 Liftoff! Eight years later, a Sa...

Apollo 11 crew: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin. (Image credit: NASA) From Earth to the moon Mission planners at NASA studied the lunar surface for two years, searching for the best place to make the historic landing. They examined the best high-resolution photographs available at the time, from the Lunar Orbiter and Surveyor programs, and considered the number of craters and boulders, cliffs and hills at each prospective landing site, and how easy it would be for the astronauts to land given their fuel and time requirements. This helped the planners narrow down the initial 30 site candidates to three. Apollo 11 launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 9:32 a.m. Eastern time on July 16, 1969. While in flight, the crew made two televised broadcasts from the interior of the ship, and a third transmission as they drew closer to the moon, revealing the lunar surface and the intended approach path. On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin entered the lunar module, nicknamed the "Eagle" and separated from the The lunar module touched down on the moon's For the first 2 hours on the moon, Armstrong and Aldrin remained in the module and checked all of the systems, configured the craft for its stay on the moon and had a bite to eat. In consultation with NASA, they decided to skip their scheduled 4-hour rest and opted to go outside and explore the moon's surface instead. A video camera installed in a panel inside the Eagle provided live coverage as Armstrong d...