Apollo 11: ‘The Eagle Has Landed’

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Apollo 11: 50 Years LaterOn Jan. 9, 1969, NASA announced the prime crew of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission. This portrait was taken on Jan. 10, the day after the announcement of the crew assignment. From left to right are lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin, commander Neil Armstrong; and command module pilot Michael Collins. (Image: NASA)

Apollo 11: 50 Years LaterAs the Apollo 11 astronauts rehearse their lunar landing mission in simulators, they pause in front of a lunar module mockup in the Flight Crew Training Building area. From left, are Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, Commander Neil A. Armstrong, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. (Image: NASA)

Apollo 11: 50 Years LaterNeil Armstrong trained for the Apollo 11 mission at NASA Langley's Lunar Landing Research Facility on equipment that cancelled all but one-sixth of Earth's gravitational force. Armstrong offered perhaps the greatest tribute to the importance of his training when asked what it was like to land on the moon, replying, "Like Langley." (Image: NASA)

Apollo 11: 50 Years LaterWithin the White Room atop the gantry on Launch Complex 39 Pad A, the Apollo 11 astronauts egress from the Apollo spacecraft after participation in the Countdown Demonstration Test. In the foreground of the photograph is Astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Pad leader Guenter Wendt talks with Neil Armstrong. (Image: NASA)

Apollo 11: 50 Years LaterApollo 11 Commander Neil A. Armstrong waves to well-wishers in the hallway of the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building as he and Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. prepare to be transported to Launch Complex 39A for the first manned lunar landing mission. (Image: NASA)

Apollo 11: 50 Years LaterThe Apollo 11 crew leaves Kennedy Space Center's Manned Spacecraft Operations Building during the pre-launch countdown. Mission commander Neil Armstrong, command module pilot Michael Collins, and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin prepare to ride the special transport van to Launch Complex 39A where their spacecraft awaited them. (Image: NASA)

Apollo 11: 50 Years LaterThis photograph shows the Saturn V launch vehicle (SA-506) for the Apollo 11 mission liftoff at 9:32 am EST, July 16, 1969, from launch complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. (Image: NASA)

Apollo 11: 50 Years LaterOn July 16, 1969, the huge, 363-feet tall Saturn V rocket launches on the Apollo 11 mission from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, at 9:32 a.m. EDT. (Image: NASA)

Apollo 11: 50 Years LaterFormer President Lyndon B. Johnson and then-current Vice President Spiro Agnew are among the spectators at the launch of Apollo 11, which lifted off from Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center at 9:32 am EDT on July 16, 1969. The crew, the first of the Apollo missions to land on the moon, safely returned to Earth on 37 years ago this week on July 24, 1969 (Image: NASA)

Apollo 11: 50 Years LaterThe American flag heralded the launch of Apollo 11, the first Lunar landing mission, on July 16, 1969. The massive Saturn V rocket lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center with astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin at 9:32 a.m. EDT. Four days later, on July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the Moon's surface. (Image: NASA)

Apollo 11: 50 Years LaterThe Apollo 11 Lunar Module Eagle, in a landing configuration was photographed in lunar orbit from the Command and Service Module Columbia. Inside the module were Commander Neil A. Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin. The long rod-like protrusions under the landing pods are lunar surface sensing probes. (Image: NASA)

Apollo 11: 50 Years LaterAstronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot, egresses the Lunar Module (LM) "Eagle" and begins to descend the steps of the LM ladder as he prepares to walk on the moon. (Image: NASA)

Apollo 11: 50 Years LaterAstronaut Buzz Aldrin walks on the surface of the moon near the leg of the lunar module Eagle during the Apollo 11 mission. Mission commander Neil Armstrong took this photograph with a 70mm lunar surface camera. (Image: NASA)

Apollo 11: 50 Years LaterBuzz Aldrin moves toward a position to deploy two components of the Early Apollo Scientific Experiments Package (EASEP) on the surface of the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. (Image: NASA)

Apollo 11: 50 Years LaterAstronaut and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin is pictured during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity on the moon. He had just deployed the Early Apollo Scientific Experiments Package. In the foreground is the Passive Seismic Experiment Package; beyond it is the Laser Ranging Retro-Reflector (LR-3). (Image: NASA)

Apollo 11: 50 Years LaterThis photograph of the Lunar Module at Tranquility Base was taken by Neil Armstrong during the Apollo 11 mission, from the rim of Little West Crater on the lunar surface. Armstrong's shadow and the shadow of the camera are visible in the foreground. This is the furthest distance from the lunar module traveled by either astronaut while on the moon. (Image: NASA)

Apollo 11: 50 Years LaterAstronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot of the first lunar landing mission, poses for a photograph beside the deployed United States flag during an Apollo 11 extravehicular activity (EVA) on the lunar surface. The Lunar Module (LM) is on the left, and the footprints of the astronauts are clearly visible. (Image: NASA)

Apollo 11: 50 Years LaterThe Apollo 11 crew await pickup by a helicopter from the USS Hornet, prime recovery ship for the historic lunar landing mission. The fourth man in the life raft is a United States Navy underwater demolition team swimmer. All four men are wearing biological isolation garments. (Image: NASA)

Apollo 11: 50 Years LaterOfficial crew photo of the Apollo 11 Prime Crew. From left to right are astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Commander; Michael Collins, Command Module Pilot; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module Pilot. (Image: NASA)