20/7/1969 - Blog Posts

50th Anniversary of the Lunar Landing - July 20th, 1969

Apollo 11 was launched on a Saturn V rocket from the Kennedy Space Center on July 16th, 1969 carrying Commander Neil Armstrong, lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin, and command module pilot Michael Collins. Armstrong and Aldrin became the first humans to land on the surface of the moon when the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle landed in the Sea of Tranquility on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC. Nearly a day later the men rejoined Collins in the command module Columbia, held in lunar orbit, and set a trajectory back to Earth. After over eight days in space Apollo 11 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24th.

The black and white images of the first lunar landing were received and broadcast live to at least 600 million people on Earth, around a fifth of the total population, a viewership record at the time. Within the USA, 94% of American televisions tuned in to the broadcast.