Apollo 11

“The Eagle Has Landed”

Crew: Neil Armstrong (Commander); Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. (Lunar Module Pilot); Michael Collins (Command Module Pilot)

Launch Vehicle: Saturn V

Spacecraft: Columbia (CM-107), Eagle (LM-5)

Launch Date: July 16, 1969

Return Date: July 24, 1969

Apollo 11, launched from Cape Kennedy, was the culmination of a national goal set by President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961: to perform a crewed lunar landing and return safely to Earth before the end of the decade.

During their moonwalks, Armstrong and Aldrin both ranged up to 300 feet from the Eagle. After Aldrin had spent one hour, 33 minutes on the surface, he re-entered the LM, followed 41 minutes later by Armstrong. The entire EVA phase lasted more than 2.5 hours, ending at 111 hours, 39 minutes into the mission.

Armstrong and Aldrin spent 21 hours, 36 minutes on the moon’s surface.

An estimated 530 million people watched Armstrong’s televised image and heard his voice describe the event as he took “...one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” on July 20, 1969.