On the night of July 20-21, 1969, the lunar module Eagle of the Apollo 11 mission landed on the Moon, in the region known as the Sea of Tranquility. Fifty-seven years later to the day, this lunar landing remains one of the most significant events in the history of space exploration.
The Eagle landed
Astronaut Neil Armstrong, the mission commander, then announced to mission control in Houston: "Houston, this is Tranquility Base, the Eagle has landed." A few hours later, he became the first man to set foot on the lunar surface, followed by Edwin Aldrin, nicknamed Buzz. The third crew member, Michael Collins, remained in lunar orbit aboard the Apollo command module, responsible for maintaining communication with Earth.
The Saturn V rocket was launched on July 16 from Cape Kennedy, now renamed Cape Canaveral, in Florida. The Apollo 11 mission marked the culmination of the American space program, which began in the early 1960s amidst rivalry with the Soviet Union in the race to conquer space.
An event watched by hundreds of millions of viewers
Images of the moon landing and the first steps on the Moon were broadcast live on television and watched by several hundred million viewers around the world, an unprecedented event on this scale for the time.
Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins departed from the Moon on July 21 before returning to Earth on July 24, 1969, completing a mission that remains to this day one of the most universally recognized symbols of human space exploration.
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