On this day in 1969, with 600 million people watching on TV, an American crew landed on the Moon. The Apollo 11 mission had three crew members: Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. Collins piloted the craft that would return them to Earth, while the others became the first two people ever to walk the Moon’s surface.
Eventually, a total of six Apollo missions would land men on the Moon, the last arriving in December 1972. The missions brought the U.S. national glory– and more importantly, scientific results. Over the course of six moon landings, astronauts conducted invaluable geologic research. Using lunar sample collection bags, they eventually amassed more than 842 pounds (382 kilograms)[1] of Moon rocks, which are studied by lunar scientists to this day. These rocks were the key to demonstrating that the Moon formed from debris created when a Mars-sized object impacted Earth 4.5 billion years ago.
Photo: NASA
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