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🏛️ The First Moon Landing
On July 20, 1969, two astronauts walked on the Moon for the first time — after blasting off from Florida.
Photo: NASA, Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons
📍 Where is it?
📍 Kennedy Space Center, United States — see it on the big map →
On July 16, 1969, a giant rocket called Saturn V blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying three astronauts: Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. Their mission was Apollo 11 — the first attempt to land people on the Moon.
Four days later, Armstrong and Aldrin climbed into a small landing craft and flew down to the Moon's surface, landing in a flat plain called the Sea of Tranquility. Collins stayed in orbit above them, alone in the main spacecraft.
Armstrong stepped out first and said the famous words: "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." The two astronauts walked on the Moon for about two and a half hours, collecting rocks and planting an American flag. Hundreds of millions of people watched on television — the biggest TV audience in history up to then.
🤩 Wow fact!
Michael Collins stayed alone in orbit around the Moon while Armstrong and Aldrin walked on its surface below him.
🧠 Quiz time!
Who was the first person to step onto the Moon?