Neil Armstrong July 20, 1969

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Those of us who are old enough will remember July 20th as the day in 1969, when Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. Today marks the 43th anniversary of that historic event. Here’s a look back at the giant leap we made for mankind:

• Apollo XI had a crew of three: Mission commander Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin.
• They blasted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 9:32am, Wednesday, July 16, 1969. Apollo XI reached the moon’s orbit on Sunday, July 20. Aldrin and Armstrong then transferred into a lunar module for the final leg of the journey, and touched down on the moon at 4:18pm July 20.
• Aldrin piloted the lunar module, which had just 40 seconds of fuel left when they landed.
• Armstrong set foot on the surface more than six hours later, at 10:56pm.
• The crew returned to Earth four days later, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean southwest of Hawaii at 12:50pm, July 24. The last trip to the moon was on Apollo XVII in 1972.
• Armstrong uttered these now-immortal words after he made history: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” Communication was lost in the split second between “for” and “man,” which is why many people think he said, “One small step for man.”