July 20, 1969

The lunar module Eagle touched down, the first manned spacecraft to land on the surface of the Moon.

The Apollo 11 mission comprised crew of three astronauts – Neil Armstrong, Edwin Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, all age 39.

Armstrong was the one whose feet first touched the lunar surface. As he took the historic step he announced: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

The historic landing came just under 7 years after the “Moon Speech” by President Kennedy, pledging: “We shall send to the Moon, 240,000 miles away, giant rocket, more than 300 feet tall on untried mission to unknown celestial body, and then return it safely to Earth.

“But why, some say, the Moon? Why choose this as our goal? They may well ask, why climb the highest mountain? Why 35 years ago fly the Atlantic? We go to the Moon. We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things not because they are easy, but because they are hard.

“Because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we’re willing to accept. One we are unwilling to postpone.

“Therefore, as we set sail, we ask God’s blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure that man has ever gone.”

Around the world, more than half a billion people watched the Moon landing but Kennedy did not live to see his dream fulfilled.

Hot on the heels of Armstrong came “Buzz” Aldrin, the second man to walk on the Moon. They spent 21 hours on the surface taking photographs and setting up scientific equipment for tests. They also collected 46 pounds (21 kilos) of moon rocks. The walk, which was televised, attracted about 600 million viewers across the world, the largest TV audience in history.

Armstrong and Aldrin later piloted the lunar module Eagle to successful rendezvous with Collins who was controlling the command module in lunar orbit. The mission ended on July 24 with splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

Neil Armstrong was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio, on Aug 5, 1930 and from early years showed passion for airplanes and space. He won student pilot’s license aged just 16 — before he even learned to drive a car. After high school he became an air cadet in the US Navy. He also studied flight engineering at two universities. In the early 1950s he was a pilot in the Korean War.

Then in 1955 Armstrong joined the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as a test pilot. Seven years later he was selected to be an astronaut. He retired from NASA in 1971 but continued to teach and to work on committees. He died of heart disease aged 82 in August 2012.

‘Buzz’ Aldrin was born on Jan 20, 1930, at Montclair, New Jersey, as Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Jr. His father was an Air Force colonel, and Aldrin became a top student at the Military Academy at West Point. He was decorated for service as fighter pilot during the Korean War, and was among the first NASA astronauts selected for the space program.

After the historic Apollo 11 mission with Neil Armstrong, Aldrin returned to the Air Force in managerial role and developed spacecraft systems. He wrote an autobiography and several other books.

He retired from the Air Force in 1972 to enter private business. Aldrin once punched a man in the face for claiming that the Moon landing was fabricated.

Michael Collins was born Oct 31, 1930, in Rome, Italy. He attended Saint Albans School in Washington, DC, and graduated from West Point Military Academy in 1952.

After choosing an Air Force career he was a fighter pilot, and from 1959 to 1963 served as a test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base in California. He was selected as a NASA astronaut in October, 1963.

A plaque was left on the Moon after the 1969 landing. Signed by Armstrong, Aldrin, Collins and President Nixon, it read: “We came in peace for all mankind.”