40th Anniversary of the 1st Moon Landing

“Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.” At 20:17 UTC on July 20, 1969 the lunar module known as Eagle landed on the surface of the Earth’s Moon. At 02:56 UTC, July 21 Neil Armstrong began to climb down the ladder towards humankind’s first footfall on extraterrestrial ground.

Back on the home planet, earthlings paid 6 cents for a first-class postage stamp, 35 cents for a gallon of gas, $1.10 for a gallon of milk; the New York Times bestseller list included The Godfather, The Andromeda Strain, and Slaughterhouse-Five; and at least some GAPAs were Muser age.

Vintage broadcasts can be found on YouTube, Spacevidcast, and elsewhere. For a real-time interactive reconstruction of the event, complete with full audio, see We Choose the Moon, presented by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. (Note that the page takes awhile for initial loading. After completion of the mission, the site will be viewable at your own pace.)

This entry was posted in The Universe. Bookmark the permalink.

41 Responses to 40th Anniversary of the 1st Moon Landing

  1. The GAPA hereby claims first post to discourage MBers from posting “first post” posts.

    It’s hard to believe that it all happened when we Administrators were just wee proto-Musers.

    Pie 0
    Squid 0
  2. I-Man says:

    1 – Can we say “first post” if we then actually talk about something related to the topic?

    Happy 40th birthday, Apollo XI!

    Pie 0
    Squid 0
  3. Kiga says:

    1 – does it really matter? It’s just one little line. Anyway.

    I’ve never seen the video of landing on the moon, but my mom (who was two then) and I think my dad (who was three) did. My mom says it was very boring. :)

    Pie 0
    Squid 0
  4. Enceladus says:

    My mom was almost exactly my age when the moon landing happened! (We have the same b-day. Nov. 11)

    Pie 0
    Squid 0
  5. Kiga says:

    Uh, your mom’s birthday is November 11? So is my moms’. Funny! :)

    Pie 0
    Squid 0
  6. Kagcomix says:

    I can’t imagine how fascinating and frightening it would me to be enclosed in a metal container traveling where no living thing had been before. It would be so strange and new; you wouldn’t have any idea what could go horribly wrong or what it would feel like. It would take a lot of daring and nerve. I know I couldn’t do it. Outer space really frightens me. It’s beautiful but absolutely terrifying. (On another note: I absolutely love that Majic School Bus episode where they travel through the solar system and the one where they buy Dorothy- Ann the star).

    Pie 0
    Squid 0
  7. Daisy*chain says:

    Happy (belated) Anniversary Apollo XI!!

    On a barely-related note, yesterday was also my grandparents’ anniversary! They’ve been married for 41 years.

    Pie 0
    Squid 0
  8. Kiga says:

    Congrats for them!!! :)

    Pie 0
    Squid 0
  9. -*CTN*- says:

    Happy(belated) 40th anniversary, Apollo XI!
    I am a day late…

    Pie 0
    Squid 0
  10. Kagcomix says:

    6.1- Not immature, necessarily. I find children’s entertainment and old children’s novels more engaging than what is now status quo for Teen Novels. (Sometimes I like the relationships in a book to be purely platonic :roll: )

    Pie 0
    Squid 0
  11. bubblebabe46 says:

    i read teen novels all the time!!! i love them but u are right, they are extreeemely predictable…wow. i’m having the urge to put in acronyms like “omg” and “btw.” would anyone find that annoying if i did that? probably…

    Pie 0
    Squid 0
    • Kiga says:

      I wouldn’t be annoyed, but my general impression is that others would.

      Pie 0
      Squid 0
    • RoseQuartz says:

      Probably some people would be annoyed, yes. Some people also get annoyed if you don’t capitalize properly or use “u” for “you.” Personally, I don’t mind the way you’re writing; it’s perfectly easy to read. As long as you don’t abbreviate things too much, you’re good. You’re using good grammar and spelling, so if you want to use acronyms, that’s fine with me. :)

      By the way, some people may also get annoyed if you post twice in a row. Just FYI.

      Re:the “icon thingie:” it’s an automatically assigned avatar. You can change it, if you want; just go to www . gravatar . com and sign up for an account. That way, you can choose any picture from your computer or the Web to have next to your name, as long as it’s not a picture of you or any other recognizable human face–even celebrities, if I’m not mistaken.

      Hmm, maybe I should repost this on the Neophytes thread….

      Pie 0
      Squid 0
  12. bubblebabe46 says:

    wha’ the – what’s with my icon thingie??!!

    Pie 0
    Squid 0
  13. KaiYves *Back from Space Academy!* says:

    I wasn’t on MB to post, but I was at the US Space and Rocket Center, just a few miles from where the Saturn V rocket that Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins rode on was assembled and built.

    The Huntsville Times was re-printing all their old coverage and the councilors either left copies around or cut out the articles to hang on the wall.

    On the 20th, I got to to watch the IMAX film Magnificent Desolation, about walking on the moon, for the third time, and, just like the two previous times, I cried my eyes out, because the ending is very beautiful. I also got to talk to Dr. Georg von Tiesenhausen, who helped design the moon buggy. (Yes, Tiesenhausen is very fun to say.)

    To step out, onto a world where no human had ever set foot, and then turn around and see the Earth hanging in the sky would be mind-blowing. Alan Sheppard cried when he saw the Earth from the moon, and I’d probably do the same.

    Pie 0
    Squid 0
  14. bubblebabe46 says:

    A belated thank you, RoseQuartz, relating to the way I type. So there, Pseudonym – I know you’re watching me. I think it is easy to read too.

    Pie 0
    Squid 0

Leave a Reply to -*CTN*- Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *