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Vol 8, No 197

July 16, 1969

Wednesday Evening

Man Heads for the Moon

Neil Armstrong
HOUSTON (1969)  On this date in 1969, Apollo 11 with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins on board, took off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida headed for the moon. Their mission was the fulfillment of a dream spoken of by President John F Kennedy, that the United States should endeavor, by the end of the decade (1960s) to send a man to the moon, and bring him safely back to earth.
   On July 20th, Armstrong and Aldrin separated their lunar lander "The Eagle", from the command module, saying goodby to pilot Michael Collins, and gently set the lunar lander onto a plane called the Sea of Tranquility, on the surface of the moon.
   Having landed the Eagle, Neil Armstrong spoke the first words broadcast from the moon: "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed." Within a short time, Armstrong descended the short lander to the surface, placed his foot into the dust of the surface of the moon, fulfilling the greatest dream of all history, to walk on the moon.