![[Buzz Aldrin]](https://members.tripod.com/~spacefirst/apollo11/buzzonmoon.jpg)
Spacecraft: Command Service Module Columbia; Lunar Module Eagle; Saturn V Rocket
Launch Pad: Pad 39-A, Cape Kennedy, Florida
Launch: 9:32 am EST, July 16, 1969
Mission Duration: 8 days, 3 hours, 18 minutes, 35 seconds
Lunar Location: Sea of Tranquility
Lunar Coords: .71 deg North, 23.63 deg East
Maximum Distance: 389,645 kilometers
Landing: July 24, 1969 at 13 deg 19 min North, 169 deg 9 min West
The Apollo 11 mission successfully landed the first humans on the Moon. On July 20, 1969, Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin conducted a lunar surface EVA of 2 hours, 31 minutes, becoming the first men to walk on the Moon. During their time on the Moon, the astronauts collected 44 pounds of lunar material, deployed scientific experiments, and planted an American flag. The astronauts also left behind a plaque stating "Here Men From the Planet Earth First Set Foot Upon the Moon, July, 1969. We Came in Peace for all Mankind". While Armstrong and Aldrin were on the Moon's surface, Astronaut Michael Collins stayed in lunar orbit aboard the Command Service Module Columbia. Many find the Apollo 11 mission to be man's greatest technological achievement of the 20th century, if not all of human history.
Neil A. Armstrong, Commander
Neil Alden Armstrong was born on August 5,1930 in Wapakoneta, Ohio. He holds a degree in aeronautical engineering from Purdue University and a masters degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Southern California. From 1949 to 1952, Armstrong was a naval aviator. Upon leaving military service, he became a test pilot. While serving as a test pilot, he was chosen to be a member of the astronaut corps. Though he was on the backup crew of many previous flights, his first space flight occurred in 1966 aboard Gemini 8. During this flight, he and fellow astronaut David Scott successfully performed the first docking in space between two vehicles. In July of 1969, Neil Armstrong was the commander of Apollo 11, America's first attempt to land a manned vehicle on the Moon. On July 20, 1969 Commander Armstrong and fellow astronaut Edwin Aldrin successfully touched down on the lunar surface. As Armstrong became the first person to touch the Moon's surface, he spoke the unforgettable phrase, "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind". He and Aldrin explored the Moon's surface for 2.5 hours. Armstrong was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of his accomplishments and his contributions to the space program. Neil Armstrong left NASA in 1971 to join the faculty of the University of Cincinnati. He remained there as a professor of aerospace engineering until 1979. Armstrong served on the National Commission on space from 1985 to 1986. In 1986, he was appointed as vice chairman of the presidential commission that investigated the Challenger explosion. Neil Armstrong is married and has two children. He currently lives quietly in Ohio and works with AIL, Inc.
Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin, Lunar Module Pilot
Buzz Aldrin was born in Montclair, New Jersey on January 20, 1930. Buzz was educated at West Point, graduating with honors in 1951, third in his class. After receiving his wings, he flew Sabre Jets in 66 combat missions in the Korean Conflict, shooting down two MIG-15's. Returning to his education, he earned a Doctorate in Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Manned Space Rendezvous. The techniques he devised were used on all NASA missions, including the first space docking with the Russian Cosmonauts. In October 1963, Buzz was selected by NASA as one of the early astronauts. In November 1966, he established a new record for Extra-Vehicular Activity in space on the Gemini XII orbital flight mission. He has logged 4500 hours of flying time, 290 of which were in space, including 8 hours of EVA. As Backup Command Module Pilot for Apollo VIII, man's first flight around the moon, Buzz significantly improved operational techniques for astronautical navigation star display. Then, on July 20, 1969, Buzz and Neil Armstrong made their historic Apollo XI moon walk, thus becoming the first two humans to set foot on another world. Since retiring from NASA, Aldrin is lecturing and traveling throughout the world to pursue and discuss his and others' latest concepts and ideas for exploring the universe. He is a leading voice in charting the course of future space efforts, chairing both the National Space Society and the ShareSpace Foundation.
Michael Collins, Command Module Pilot
Michael Collins was born in Rome, Italy, on Oct. 31, 1930. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from the U. S. Military Academy in 1952 and attended an Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School in 1974. After West Point, Collins chose an Air Force career and served as an experimental flight test officer at the Air Force Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California. NASA selected Collins as an astronaut in 1963. As pilot of the three-day Gemini 10 mission, launched July 18, 1966, he and commander John Young docked with an Agena target satellite and used the Agena engine to maneuver near another Agena left in space by the Gemini 8 crew. Collins stepped outside and, using a jet gun he moved over to the second Agena and recovered a micrometeorite detection device attached to its side and returned it to earth for study. While Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took their historic first walk on the moon in July 1969, Collins flew a "lonely lifeguard" assignment for more than 24 hours, waiting for them to launch their lunar craft and rejoin him in moon orbit. Collins retired from the Air Force as a major general and left NASA in 1970. He served briefly as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs and then became the first director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air & Space Museum, serving from 1971 to 1978.
Click here: Apollo 11 awaits launch on Pad 39-A.
Click here: The crew of Apollo 11: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin.
![[Aldrin and Flag]](https://members.tripod.com/~spacefirst/apollo11/smallbuzzflag.jpg)
Click here: Earthrise as seen by Apollo 11.
Click here: Recovery of the Apollo 11 command module.
Click here: Astronaut Buzz Aldrin and the American flag on the Moon.
Click here: Buzz Aldrin's foot on the lunar surface.
Click here: Buzz Aldrin climbs down the lunar module ladder.
Click here: Buzz Aldrin carries the lunar surface experiments package.
Click here: Astronaut Buzz Aldrin standing on the surface of the Moon.
Click here: Portrait of Astronaut Buzz Aldrin.
Click here: Buzz Aldrin deploys the solar wind experiment.
Click here: The Apollo 11 Command Service Module orbiting the Moon.
Click here: A view of the Earth from Apollo 11.
Click here: Astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin on television.
Click here: Launch of the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon.
Click here: A view of the lunar module after seperating from the command module.
Click here: Portrait of Astronaut Michael Collins.
Click here: Portrait of Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong.
![[Apollo 11]](https://members.tripod.com/~spacefirst/apollo11/apollo11awaitslaunch.jpg)
