In 1971, President Richard Nixon proclaimed National Moon Landing Day on July 20 to commemorate the anniversary of man’s first moon landing when man first walked on the moon in 1969. NASA reported the moon landing as being “… the single greatest technological achievement of all time .

On July 16, 1969 with the world watching, Apollo 11 took off from Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida and after traveling 240,000 miles in 76 hours, Apollo 11 entered into a lunar orbit on July 19, 1969 carrying three-men team to the moon. Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, stepped foot on the moon. Six hours after landing, Armstrong stepped off the lunar landing module Eagle, thus became the first human to walk on the surface of the moon and spent 2.5 hrs outside the spacecraft. Soon to follow, “Buzz” Aldrin joined him on the moon’s surface later and together they took photographs of the terrain, planted a U.S. flag, ran a few simple scientific tests, and spoke with President Richard M. Nixon via Houston. Collins waited on the other side of the moon from the comfort of the command module that would take all three men home. Finally, on July 22 Apollo 11 began its journey home, safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24.

Caught up in the thrill of the adventure, millions of Americans watched in great anticipation. Televisions around the world tuned in to the live broadcasts giving the astronaut a world-wide audience. As a result, all witnessed as Armstrong stepped onto the moon’s surface and described the event as “one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind”. And now 50 years later, the achievement of the Apollo 11 team still belongs to everyone. In the words immortalized on the plaque they planted on the moon: “We came in peace for all mankind.”