NASA Celebrates 40th Anniversary of Moon Landing

Where were you on July 20, 1969?

If you are a Baby-Boomer, chances are that you remember exactly where you were on July 20, 1969.  It is one of those dates etched into your memory, much like the day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.  In fact, it was John F. Kennedy that proclaimed the United States would put a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s, and we did.  On July 20, 1969, you were glued to a TV set (most TV’s were still black and white) as you watched 2 of the 3 astronauts from Apollo 11 (Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin) set foot on the moon for the first time.  The phrase from Neil Armstrong that followed, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” is also etched in the memory of those of us who witnessed this historic event.  WOW!  Live video broadcast from the moon.  With all of the wireless technology of today, a broadcast from the moon may seem relatively low tech, but in 1969 TV signals had only been using satellites to bounce transmissions for a few years.

Here we are 40 years later and 37 years since we were last on the moon (Apollo 17 was the sixth and final moon landing).  Why did NASA stop launching moon missions, and when are we going to go back to the moon?  As priorities shifted at NASA and budgets became more constrained, space exploration emphasized new projects such as Skylab, the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station.  Since Apollo 17, both Russia and India have sent unmanned probes to the moon.  On June 18th of this year, NASA launched the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LOR) to begin a more detailed study of the moon's surface.  Although NASA is not committing to any future dates to put astronauts back on the moon, they are preparing for future manned missions to the moon. (visit these NASA sites for more information on LOR and future moon missions)

See Video and Photos of the Apollo 11 Mission

Apollo 11 Photo Gallery

The Apollo 11 crew relaxes during training
  May 24, 1969


Liftoff of Apollo 11
July 16, 1969


Apollo 11 liftoff from launch tower camera


Moonbound Apollo 11 clears the launch tower


Lunar module inspection after undocking


flight controllers during lunar module descent


Lunar module pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin


Aldrin on the LM footpad


Aldrin salutes the U.S. Flag


Aldrin erects solar wind experiment


Neil Armstrong works at the LM


Aldrin unpacks experiments from LM


Armstrong in LM after historic moonwalk


Mission Control celebrates after splashdown


Mission Control celebrates Apollo 11


Apollo 11 astronauts, still in their quarantine van, are greeted by
their wives upon arrival at Ellington Air Force Base


Aldrin carries experiments for deployment


Aldrin retrieves solar wind experiment


LM approaches CSM for docking / earthrise in b.g.


Earthrise viewed from lunar orbit prior to landing


Crater 308 viewed from orbit

Updated on July 8, 2009