# @nasaartemis on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/5W7fflGhxP
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/15347756-nasaartemis-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/bd1680accf.jpg
- **Posted:** 2015-07-20T12:39:38.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** NASA Artemis (@nasaartemis) — https://gondola.cc/nasaartemis

## Caption

On this day in 1969, American astronaut Neil Armstrong speaks these words to more than a billion people listening at home: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Stepping off the lunar landing module Eagle, Armstrong became the first human to walk on the surface of the moon.

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.

They leave behind an American flag, a patch honoring the fallen Apollo 1 crew, and a plaque on one of Eagle's legs. It reads, "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon. July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind." Four days earlier, on the morning of July 16, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins launched atop a Saturn V at Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The three-stage 363-foot rocket used 7.5 million pounds of thrust to propel them into space and into history.

Audio of Apollo liftoff:
https://www.nasa.gov/wav/62282main_countdown_launch.wav

Audio of the first words transmitted to Earth from the surface of the moon:
https://www.nasa.gov/wav/62284main_onesmall2.wav

Credit: NASA

#nasa #history #apollo #launch #moon #exploration #manonthemoon #armstrong #aldrin #americanflag #history #greatmonents #nextgiantleap #journeytomars

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 5,256
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- **Comments:** 92

## Tags

manonthemoon, history, apollo, nextgiantleap, armstrong, nasa, launch, greatmonents, americanflag, aldrin, moon, journeytomars, exploration

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