The world on Saturday celebrated the success of Apollo 11 — one of humanitys greatest achievements — when American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the first humans ever to land on the Moon on July 20, 1969.
US Vice President Mike Pence was set to visit NASA’s KennedySpace Center in Florida to deliver a special address. According to NASA, duringhis visit, the Vice President would recognize the success of Apollo 11 andaddress progress in NASA’s return to the Moon with the upcoming Artemismissions.
Going back to the Moon sustainably with this innovativeapproach will enable America to take the next giant leap — sending humans toMars.
NASA also released stunning images from the Apollo landingsites on the Moon for a 50th anniversary reminder of what the 12 humans who walkedon its surface experience visually.
“The Valley of Taurus-Littrow on the Moon presents aview that is one of the more spectacular natural scenes in the SolarSystem,” said Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison “Jack” Schmitt, theonly geologist to walk on the Moon.
“The massif walls of the valley are brilliantlyilluminated by the Sun, rise higher than those of the Grand Canyon, and soar toheights over 4,800 feet on the north and 7,000 feet on the south,” Schmittadded.
As he took his first step, Armstrong famously said,”That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
The Apollo 11 mission occurred eight years after PresidentJohn F. Kennedy (1917-1963) announced a national goal of landing a man on themoon by the end of the 1960s.
Apollo 17, the final manned moon mission, took place in1972.
An estimated one million people gathered on the beaches ofcentral Florida to witness first-hand the launch of Apollo 11, while more than500 million people around the world watched the event live on television, NASAsaid in an earlier statement.The two astronauts spent more than 21 hours onthe lunar surface deploying scientific experiments and gathering samples beforereturning to the orbiting command module, piloted by Collins.