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In Pictures
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Celebrating ‘one giant leap for mankind’
As part of Nasa's 40th anniversary celebrations of the 1969 moon landing, digitally remastered footage has been released to mark the event. The following images show a trail of historic moments captured on tape.
Published On 18 Jul 2009
18 Jul 2009
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The National Aeronautics and Space Administration sent astronauts (left to right) Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin as the prime crew of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission [GALLO/GETTY]
From the stands of the Kennedy Space Center launch complex in Florida, Lyndon Johnson, the then US president, and Spiro Agnew, the vice-president, watched the historic lift-off early on the morning of July 16, 1969 [AFP]
After take-off, Armstrong and Aldrin descended in the Lunar Module (LM) "Eagle" to explore the Sea of Tranquillity region of the moon, while Collins remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) "Columbia" in lunar-orbit during his trip to space [AFP]
Once a clear view of Earth appeared over the lunar horizon, it was only a matter of time before mankind would accomplish the single greatest technological achievement of all time [GALLO/GETTY]
Armstrong gained instant hero status on July 20, 1969, when he placed man's first footprint on the Moon and said: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" [AFP]
Aldrin then accompanied Armstrong and the two astronauts spent 21 hours walking on the lunar surface [AFP]
An American flag was left on the Moon's surface as a reminder of the mission [AFP]
Upon the crew's arrival back to Earth, New York City welcomed the Apollo 11 crew amid showers of ticker-tape down Broadway and Park Avenue on August 13, 1969. Forty years later, the parade is still considered the largest in the city's history [GALLO/GETTY]