Apollo 11 Moon Landing 50th Anniversary
July 20, 2019
Summary Authors: Jim Foster; Stu Witmer
Today marks the 50th anniversary that the Apollo 11 spacecraft landed on the Moon. This was the first NASA mission to land humans on the lunar surface. Launched by a Saturn V rocket from Cape Canaveral on July 16, 1969, the Apollo spacecraft entered the Moon's orbit three days later. On July 20, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module in the Sea of Tranquility while Michael Collins piloted the command module (Columbia) in lunar orbit.
Armstrong and Aldrin left behind a plaque with the words: “We came in peace for all mankind.”