Forty-four years ago, the “Race for Space” was going strong, and on July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 landed “The Eagle” module on the Moon’s surface in the Sea of Tranquility. Six hours later, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the surface of the Moon. He spent about 2½ hours on the powdery, rocky lunar surface, navigating in the gravitational atmosphere that is 1/6 of that of the Earth.
Armstrong proclaimed of his walk, "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."
Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin joined Armstrong on the Moon’s surface, while Michael Collins remained above in the command module, “Columbia.”
Find out what's happening in Mehlville-Oakvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The departure from the Moon was just as dramatic as the landing. The world watched as the lunar module gently lifted up to the command module bearing the two astronauts and 21.5 kg of lunar samples. They left behind scientific instruments, a plaque and an American flag.
The return home ended in a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on July 24 and 21-day quarantine for the heroes.
