The first footprints on the moon were left by humans 47 years ago this week.
NASA’s Apollo 11 mission landed on the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969. The crew was Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin.
Armstrong and Aldrin descended to the surface in the lunar module while Collins orbited the moon in the command module.
The photo below was taken after landing and before the astronauts stepped out onto the lunar surface.
After exiting the lunar module, scientific experiments were deployed. These included a collector of solar wind samples, a passive seismic experiment, a dust detector, an experiment to precisely measure the distance between the moon and Earth, and an investigation of the properties of the lunar soil.
Launching on July 16, 1969 and returning to Earth on July 24, this mission will always be remembered in the history of human species. A legendary success, this mission took astronauts farther into space than they’d ever gone and returned them safely to Earth.
The image below was taken on their way home, and includes all of humanity except for the three astronauts that had just reached another world.
Learn more about the Apollo missions at NASA.gov.