A Giant Leap for Mankind: 45 years ago at 10:56 p.m. EDT Neil Armstrong is ready to plant the first human foot on another world. With more than half a billion people watching on television, he climbs down the ladder and proclaims: "That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind." Buzz Aldrin joins him shortly, and offers a simple but powerful description of the lunar surface: "magnificent desolation." They explore the surface for two and a half hours, collecting samples and taking photographs. Today, we stand on a new horizon, poised to take the next giant leap-deeper into the solar system. The Apollo missions blazed a path for human exploration to the moon and today we are extending that path to near-Earth asteroids, Mars and beyond. Video Credit: NASA #pathtomars #nextgiantleap #nasa #apollo11 #apollo45