On the 20^th July 1969

On the 20^th July 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon. Read on to find out about Neil Armstrong and the other NASA astronauts who visited the moon as part of the Apollo programme.

NASA's challenge - to go to the moon!

Around fifty years ago, the United States of America and Russia were competing with each other to prove that they were the most powerful country in the world. Space exploration became a key area in which they could show their superiority.

Russia beat the United States to put the first man in space, when in 1961 Yuri Gagarin flew into space in his rocket, Vostok 1.

Newly elected US President John F Kennedy decided to show America's might by challenging NASA to put a man on the moon, in less than ten years.

The first men to walk on the moon

On 20th July 1969, NASA met President Kennedy's challenge, and Neil Armstrong (left) and Buzz Aldrin (right) became the first and second men to walk on the moon.

Listen to a sound clip of the landing by clicking here.
Michael Collins (centre) waited for them in orbit around the moon, in the command module spacecraft that would take them all home.

When they landed, the first words said on the moon were: "The eagle has landed", and as Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon's surface he said: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Listen to this famous speech by clicking here.
They explored the moon's surface for less than three hours, collecting 22 kilograms of rocks for study back on earth. When they returned to earth they were welcomed as celebrities, and international heroes!

The first Apollo crew died tragically in an accident during training. NASA then made changes to make Apollo spacecraft safer for their crews.

Apollo 8 flew the 250,000 miles to the moon. They flew round the moon and came back again, but did not land.

Apollo 11 was the mission where NASA were satisfied every part of the spacecraft had been tested and was ready for an attempt to land on the moon.

The last Apollo mission was Apollo 17. By 1972 public interest was waning in moon landings, and since Apollo 17, no-one has returned to the moon.

Certain companies, such as Virgin Galactic, have aimed to send tourists into space. Bookings so far have been priced at a minimum of £156,000 each. Virgin Galactic have built SpaceShip Two, but there have been disasters when one crashed during a test flight run over the desert in California, when one pilot was killed.

Would you spend this amount of money to orbit the Earth? If you have the money, another consideration….would you dare to venture?