Apollo 11 Autographs

Profession:
( - ) Spaceflight that landed the first humans, Americans Neil Armstrong & Buzz Aldrin, on the Moon on July 20, 1969

Year of Birth: 1969

Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that landed the first humans on the Moon. Commanded by Neil Armstrong, the mission launched on July 16, 1969, from the Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida, and consisted of Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin. Michael Collins piloted the command module Columbia alone in lunar orbit while Armstrong and Aldrin descended to the lunar surface in the lunar module Eagle.

After landing, Armstrong famously declared "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind". Armstrong and Aldrin stayed on the lunar surface for about two and a half hours, collecting 47.5 pounds (21.5 kilograms) of lunar material to bring back to Earth. They left the lunar module Eagle in lunar orbit and returned to Earth in the command module Columbia. The Apollo 11 mission returned to Earth on July 24, 1969, with the crew safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.

The mission was the culmination of the Apollo program, a project of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). President John F. Kennedy had committed the United States to the goal of landing a man on the Moon by the end of the 1960s. The Apollo 11 mission was the first step towards achieving that goal.

The mission was highly successful and is widely regarded as a major milestone in human history. Armstrong and Aldrin became instant celebrities, and their mission spurred a renewed interest in space exploration. The success of Apollo 11 also helped to secure the United States’ victory in the Space Race against the Soviet Union.

In the years since the mission, Apollo 11 has become an iconic symbol of America’s accomplishments in space exploration. Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins were each awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for their roles in the mission. In addition, a number of museums and monuments have been built to commemorate the mission.

The Apollo 11 mission was an important step in the history of space exploration and has helped to inspire generations of astronauts and space enthusiasts around the world. The mission will forever be remembered as a momentous achievement for humankind.