 "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
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Apollo Anniversary: Moon Landing "Inspired World"
John Roach
for National Geographic News
July 16, 2004
On July 20, 1969, at 10:56 p.m. ET, Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped off the "Eagle" onto the surface of the moon and said, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
Thirty-five years later, Steven Dick, NASA's chief historian at the space agency's headquarters in Washington, D.C., said that a thousand years from now, that step may be considered the crowning achievement of the 20th century.
Read the full story
"Putting a man on the moon not only inspired the nation, but also the world," Dick said. "The 1960s were a tumultuous time in the U.S., and the moon landing showed what could be accomplished at a time when much else was going wrong."
Armstrong's step was the culmination of a goal set forth by President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961. In a speech before a joint session of Congress, the President had announced his objective of "landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth" before the end of the decade.
The goal set in motion Project Apollo. Armstrong—together with astronauts Michael Collins, and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr.,—lifted off on the Apollo 11 mission on July 16, 1969, from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 9:32 a.m. ET.
About 76 hours later, the spacecraft entered lunar orbit. Armstrong and Aldrin boarded the lunar module, known as the Eagle, for descent to the lunar surface. There, it landed in a region called the Sea of Tranquility at 4:18 p.m. ET.
Armstrong took his historic step six hours later, as millions of people around the world watched on television. The landing drew the largest television audience for any live event up until that time.
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Moon Return?
The continuing interest in the moon, according to Dick, is one of the reasons President George W. Bush's Vision for U.S. Space Exploration—outlined in a speech at NASA headquarters on January 14—is so important.
The vision, which has been widely criticized for its funding, appropriateness, and time line, calls for a return to the moon no later than 2020. The idea is to foster further scientific study of Earth's satellite and to use it as a stepping stone to get to Mars and beyond.
"The new space vision will perhaps have an even broader impact than the moon, and certainly a more sustained one," Dick said. "In addition to technologies that will be developed, the new space vision carries on the long American tradition of exploration in the spirit of Lewis and Clark."
Let's Have Some Fun!
The World Book Trivia Challenge:
The Apollo Space Program
Pick an answer from the three choices offered after each question and then "Check Your Answers" at the end of the quiz to see how you scored. All of the answers can be found in World Book.
- Who orbited the moon while Armstrong and Aldrin walked on it?
Alan L. Bean
Michael Collins
Charles Conrad, Jr.
- Who commanded Apollo 8, a mission that circled the moon 10 times during Christmas 1968?
William A. Anders
Frank Borman
Gordon Cooper
- Who flew in Freedom 7 in 1961, and then commanded Apollo 14 ten years later?
Scott Carpenter
John Glenn
Alan Shepard
- Who reported to mission control, "OK, Houston, we've had a problem" during the Apollo 13 mission?
Fred W. Haise
James Lovell
John Swigert
- What geologist was the first scientist-astronaut to fly in space?
Eugene A. Cernan
Charles M. Duke
Harrison Schmitt
- Who made six space flights, more than any other American astronaut?
Walter Schirra
Thomas P. Stafford
John Young
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Answers: (click and drag your mouse in the space below)
1. Michael Collins
2. Frank Borman
3. Alan Shepard
4. John Swigert
5. Harrison Schmitt
6. John Young
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