On This Day, July 20th

1. 1969: Neil Armstrong became first man to walk on the moon.

Photo: nasa

Photo: nasa

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” said Neil Armstrong on this date in 1969 as he stepped onto the surface of the moon. The moon had eluded both the United States and the Soviet Union for quite some time. But In the early hours of July 16th, the entire world watched as Apollo 11 blasted off from Kennedy Space Center heading on its 240,000 mile journey to the moon. They were able to make it in just 76 hours, which means meant they averaged over 3,100 mph over the entire trip. At roughly 4:20 p.m., the craft touched down on the lunar surface near the southwestern edge of whats known as the Sea of Tranquility. It wasn’t until a little over six hours later that Armstrong opened up the hatch and at 10:56 p.m. Armstrong spoke his famous words then planted his left foot into the powdery surface of the moon. At that instant humanity as a whole changed, we had officially accomplished some degree of space travel. About 15 minutes later Buzz Aldrin join him becoming the second man to walk on the moon. Just after 1 a.m. both astronauts were back on board the lunar module. The following day they started their ascent back to the command module and by July 24 they had safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean.