50 years ago on this day human beings stepped on the moon for the first time. Saturn V rocket broke free from the earth with  three American astronauts,  Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. Just  four days later they arrived on the moon and  changed  human history . The mission was the first-ever launch from the Kennedy Space Center. It was a success for NASA, as it proved that Saturn V worked at the time. The 363-foot-tall vehicle was the largest space craft to ever attempt flight. An estimated 530 million people around the world watched as  NASA’s (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)  Apollo 11 mission circled the moon for the first time .

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” – these were the first words of Neil Armstrong on landing on the moon.  It was July 20, 1969, when Armstrong and the fellow astronaut Buzz Aldrin became the first humans ever to stand and walk on a heavenly body not called Earth. Armstrong famously called the historic achievement a “giant leap for mankind”. He was followed by Buzz Aldrin into the lunar space and Michael Collins stayed back in the main spacecraft.

 The possibility of failure of such a dare devil mission was too high .Michael Collins who was the  guy in the Command Module Columbia later said that, he had deep fears that he would be left all alone to return after they crashed .Collins feels that the main objective of this mission was to put man in the lunar surface and thrust the USA ahead of USSR. After the three astronauts returned to earth they were confined in a room for 21 days to be assured that these astronauts did not carry any contagious disease.

After decades of flip-flopping between the moon and Mars as the next big astronaut destination, NASA aims to put astronauts on the lunar surface again by 2024 at the White House’s direction.  Being a huge scientific achievement, Apollo 11 inspired the next generations of engineers, physicists, mathematicians, and many of whom are working on cutting-edge space projects today.