The seismic instrument package stopped responding to commands at 0400 UT August 25 1969, probably from overheating from the hot midday sun. [54] Aldrin and Collins described the crew as "amiable strangers". [218][219], While most Americans were proud of their nation's achievements in space exploration, only once during the late 1960s did the Gallup Poll indicate that a majority of Americans favored "doing more" in space as opposed to "doing less". [224] In 1971, it was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution, and was displayed at the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) in Washington, DC. After Aldrin and Armstrong completed their EVA, Collins slept so he could be rested for the rendezvous. Having left Earth, Apollo performed a mid-flight turn to dock with the Lunar Module, which was carried into space behind the Command Module, before turning again and heading for the Moon. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong put his left foot on the rocky Moon. [101] Haise entered Columbia about three hours and ten minutes before launch time. [220], After the Apollo 11 mission, officials from the Soviet Union said landing humans on the Moon was dangerous and unnecessary. [18] But on April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space, and the first to orbit the Earth. Bob Gilruth, the director of the MSC felt the talons of the eagle looked "too warlike". Anders had flown with Lovell on Apollo 8. 2 years ago. Descent engine command override off. After the successful shooting on 21 July 1969, the Hasselblad was hoisted up to the lunar lander with a line. To give Collins an idea where to look, Mission Control radioed that they believed the lunar module landed about 4 miles (6.4 km) off target. Lunar dust kicked up by the LM's engine began to impair his ability to determine the spacecraft's motion. A regular repair was not possible in the available time but the station director, Charles Force, had his ten-year-old son Greg use his small hands to reach into the housing and pack it with grease. [165], After about seven hours of rest, the crew was awakened by Houston to prepare for the return flight. As he got closer, now 250 feet (76 m) above the surface, he discovered his new landing site had a crater in it. [179] A presidential party consisting of Nixon, Borman, Secretary of State William P. Rogers and National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger flew to Johnston Atoll on Air Force One, then to the command ship USS Arlington in Marine One. [225] It was in the central Milestones of Flight exhibition hall in front of the Jefferson Drive entrance, sharing the main hall with other pioneering flight vehicles such as the Wright Flyer, Spirit of St. Louis, Bell X-1, North American X-15 and Friendship 7. Although it has been said "not since Adam has any human known such solitude",[168] Collins felt very much a part of the mission. [139] The signal was received at Goldstone in the United States, but with better fidelity by Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station near Canberra in Australia. [128] Apollo 11 landed with less fuel than most subsequent missions, and the astronauts encountered a premature low fuel warning. [143] Film taken from the LM ascent stage upon liftoff from the Moon reveals the American flag, planted some 25 feet (8 m) from the descent stage, whipping violently in the exhaust of the ascent stage engine. They argued that the first person to walk on the Moon should be like Charles Lindbergh, a calm and quiet person. The crew tried a simulation in which Aldrin left the spacecraft first, but he damaged the simulator while attempting to egress. [211][215][216] The poem starts with: A rat done bit my sister Nell. became a common saying following Apollo 11. [222] The public's reaction in the Soviet Union was mixed. Image: The Apollo 11 Flag. As they worked, the moonwalkers kicked up gray dust which soiled the outer part of their suits. It's an honor for us to be able to participate here today. © 2020 www.floridatoday.com. [96][97] The CSM was mated on January 29, and moved from the Operations and Checkout Building to the Vehicle Assembly Building on April 14. When Neil Armstrong stepped down a ladder and onto the moon on July 20, 1969, the nation achieved an audacious vision. [177], On July 12, with Apollo 11 still on the launch pad, Hornet departed Pearl Harbor for the recovery area in the central Pacific,[178] in the vicinity of 10°36′N 172°24′E / 10.600°N 172.400°E / 10.600; 172.400. For Apollo, a third crew of astronauts was added, known as the support crew. Scientific value was not a consideration.[82]. [164] The disk also carries a listing of the leadership of the US Congress, a listing of members of the four committees of the House and Senate responsible for the NASA legislation, and the names of NASA's past and then-current top management. The name Snowcone was used for the CM and Haystack was used for the LM in both internal and external communications during early mission planning. [26][27] The effort to land a man on the Moon already had a name: Project Apollo. The Apollo 9 and 10 missions also took place in 1969 and were integral to the success of the Moon landing. The bag contained a forgotten camera that had been used to capture images of the first Moon landing. According to reports, the six Apollo missions left 96 bags of human waste on the moon. [238][239] The S-IVB third stage which performed Apollo 11's trans-lunar injection remains in a solar orbit near to that of Earth. [248][249] The camera is currently on display at the National Air and Space Museum. The sunlight in the image was coming from the wrong direction; the shadow should have been in the lower part of the Earth instead of the left. The astronauts reported that they needed to plan their movements six or seven steps ahead. Nixon and Agnew honored each astronaut with a presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The lunar module, Eagle (Image: NASA) In order to launch back into space, Armstrong and Aldrin used the descent stage as a launch pad, and this is … Vice President Spiro Agnew viewed the launch with former president Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife Lady Bird Johnson. The lunar module, the spacecraft Aldrin and Armstrong used to get from the main command and service module in lunar orbit to the moon's surface, is seen in the top left of the photograph. Did the US /NASA really land on the moon in 1969? [129] Duke mispronounced his reply as he expressed the relief at Mission Control: "Roger, Twan—Tranquility, we copy you on the ground. It represents the movement of Moon through the zodiac belt for the year you were born. [161] The remarks were in a memo from Safire to Nixon's White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman, in which Safire suggested a protocol the administration might follow in reaction to such a disaster. Five more crewed missions made it to the Moon in the years that followed before the Apollo program ended in 1972. The projection was joined by a 40-foot (12 m) wide recreation of the Kennedy Space Center countdown clock and two large video screens showing archival footage to recreate the time leading up to the moon landing. [69] After some discussion, the olive branch was moved to the talons. [3] In the early hours of the morning, the fuel tanks of the S-II and S-IVB stages were filled with liquid hydrogen. The Apollo 11 Crew left Earth for the moon on July 16, 1969, at 9:32 a.m. in a Saturn V rocket. Armstrong was supposed to immediately shut the engine down, as the engineers suspected the pressure caused by the engine's own exhaust reflecting off the lunar surface could make it explode, but he forgot. It also referred to Columbia, a historical name of the United States. [172], On the return to Earth, a bearing at the Guam tracking station failed, potentially preventing communication on the last segment of the Earth return. [211][212], New phrases permeated into the English language. The world was fascinated with NASA’s progress as it approached the launch of Apollo 11 in July 1969, when the astronauts Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin, and Neil Armstrong left Earth to touch down on the moon. Throughout the descent, Aldrin called out navigation data to Armstrong, who was busy piloting Eagle. [204] The flag of American Samoa on Apollo 11 is on display at the Jean P. Haydon Museum in Pago Pago, the capital of American Samoa. [168], One of Collins' first tasks was to identify the lunar module on the ground. At 12:30 on May 20, the 5,443-tonne (5,357-long-ton; 6,000-short-ton) assembly departed the Vehicle Assembly Building atop the crawler-transporter, bound for Launch Pad 39A, part of Launch Complex 39, while Apollo 10 was still on its way to the Moon. By July 1969, all was in readiness for Apollo 11 to take the final step onto the Moon. They did experiments. The Saturn V rocket which put us in orbit is an incredibly complicated piece of machinery, every piece of which worked flawlessly ... We have always had confidence that this equipment will work properly. Aldrin remembered, "Of all the jobs I had to do on the Moon the one I wanted to go the smoothest was the flag raising. The astronauts used Eagle's ascent stage to lift off from the lunar surface and rejoin Collins in the command module. [92] Slayton told Armstrong the plan was to have him leave the spacecraft first, if he agreed. The astronauts were new to this as well, pioneers headed to a new world—literally. Each Apollo mission left a commemorative plaque on the surface of the moon. [91], For decades, Aldrin believed the final decision was largely driven by the lunar module's hatch location. It's absolutely no trouble to walk around. He realized that a storm front was headed for the Apollo recovery area. [66], The Apollo 11 mission emblem was designed by Collins, who wanted a symbol for "peaceful lunar landing by the United States". Climbing down the nine-rung ladder, Armstrong pulled a D-ring to deploy the modular equipment stowage assembly (MESA) folded against Eagle's side and activate the TV camera. [80] A landing just after dawn was chosen to limit the temperature extremes the astronauts would experience. Auto." [134] During training on Earth, everything required had been neatly laid out in advance, but on the Moon the cabin contained a large number of other items as well, such as checklists, food packets, and tools. On arrival aboard Hornet, the party was greeted by the Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Command (CINCPAC), Admiral John S. McCain Jr., and NASA Administrator Thomas O. Paine, who flew to Hornet from Pago Pago in one of Hornet's carrier onboard delivery aircraft. [102] The closeout crew sealed the hatch, and the cabin was purged and pressurized. Aldrin remarked that moving from sunlight into Eagle's shadow produced no temperature change inside the suit, but the helmet was warmer in sunlight, so he felt cooler in shadow. A new location was selected 215 nautical miles (398 km) northeast. The Eagle has landed." [266], On July 19, 2019, the Google Doodle paid tribute to the Apollo 11 Moon Landing, complete with a link to an animated YouTube video with voiceover by astronaut Michael Collins. [189], After touchdown on Hornet at 17:53 UTC, the helicopter was lowered by the elevator into the hangar bay, where the astronauts walked the 30 feet (9.1 m) to the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF), where they would begin the Earth-based portion of their 21 days of quarantine. After a night on board, they would fly to Hornet in Marine One for a few hours of ceremonies. About Moon Calendar. Flight Director Gene Kranz speculated that it could have resulted from extra air pressure in the docking tunnel. ", "Gil Scott-Heron's Poem, 'Whitey on the Moon, "Where No Man Has Gone Before: A History of Apollo Lunar Exploration Missions", "Russians Finally Admit They Lost Race to Moon", "The Moon Landing through Soviet Eyes: A Q&A with Sergei Khrushchev, son of former premier Nikita Khrushchev", Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, "Neil Armstrong's sons help open exhibit of father's spacecraft in Ohio", "Neil Armstrong's Apollo 11 spacesuit unveiled at Smithsonian", "National Air and Space Museum Moves Apollo Artifact to Future Home", "Amazon boss Jeff Bezos 'finds Apollo 11 Moon engines, "Bezos Expeditions retrieves and identifies Apollo 11 engine #5, NASA confirms identity", "Apollo 11 SIVB NSSDCA/COSPAR ID: 1969-059B", "Where today are the Apollo 11 goodwill lunar sample displays? [133], Preparations for Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to walk on the Moon began at 23:43. "[112], As the descent began, Armstrong and Aldrin found themselves passing landmarks on the surface two or three seconds early, and reported that they were "long"; they would land miles west of their target point. All the plaques were left on the Moon, except the two for the aborted Apollo 13 mission which did not land on the Moon. Apollo 11 blasted off on July 16, 1969. A golden olive branch. [157] Three new minerals were discovered in the rock samples collected by the astronauts: armalcolite, tranquillityite, and pyroxferroite. He then folded the bag and tucked it into a pocket on his right thigh. While most people celebrated the accomplishment, disenfranchised Americans saw it as a symbol of the divide in America, evidenced by protesters outside of Kennedy Space Center the day before Apollo 11 launched. [201][203], The three astronauts spoke before a joint session of Congress on September 16, 1969. The location is uncertain because Eagle ascent stage was not tracked after it was jettisoned, and the lunar gravity field is sufficiently non-uniform to make the orbit of the spacecraft unpredictable after a short time. Charles Duke of the Apollo 16 mission left a photo of himself, his wife, and two kids in 1972, and it sits on the moon to this day. About two-thirds were fr… After 21.5 hours on the moon, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin blasted off from the lunar surface on July 21, 1969. For the missing dates the moon was present in the preceding sign. [51], Deke Slayton gave Armstrong the option to replace Aldrin with Lovell, since some thought Aldrin was difficult to work with. Many of the surface activities took longer than expected, so they had to stop documenting sample collection halfway through the allotted 34 minutes. It also lists the names of the members of Congress who signed legislation making the Apollo 11 mission possible, and the names of top NASA officials. [255], On July 20, 2009, Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins met with US President Barack Obama at the White House. July 20, 1969. [102][3], First crewed space mission to land on the Moon, This article is about the 1969 crewed lunar mission. It demonstrated that the Soviet Union had the capability to deliver nuclear weapons over intercontinental distances, and challenged American claims of military, economic and technological superiority. [51] In early 1969, he accepted a job with the National Aeronautics and Space Council effective August 1969, and announced he would retire as an astronaut at that time. [39], Project Apollo was abruptly halted by the Apollo 1 fire on January 27, 1967, in which astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger B. Chaffee died, and the subsequent investigation. Above you can see our calendar of Moon phases for april 1969. Map of Moon showing prospective sites for Apollo 11. Two of the Sea Kings carried divers and recovery equipment. Hornet was then at her home port of Long Beach, California. Another is that Kennedy's goal of landing humans on the Moon had already been accomplished. Five S-IVB third stages of Saturn V rockets from the Apollo program crashed into the Moon, and are the heaviest human-made objects on the lunar surface. Five minutes later, Collins joined him, taking up his position on the right hand couch. They put a U.S. flag on the moon. Areas that appeared promising on photographs taken on Earth were often found to be totally unacceptable. Its hazards are hostile to us all. Armstrong acknowledged: "Out of detent. This plaque was left on the Moon by the Apollo 11 astronauts. July 1969, A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.” For one priceless moment in the whole history of man, all the people on this Earth are truly one: one in their pride in what you have done, and one in our prayers that you will return safely to Earth. The ribbon cutting ceremony was on September 29, 2019. The Apollo 11 lunar sample displays were given out as goodwill gifts by Nixon in 1970. The possibility of bringing back pathogens from the lunar surface was considered remote, but NASA took precautions at the recovery site. The software's action, in this case, was to eliminate lower priority tasks and re-establish the more important ones. 3. He told them: "[A]s a result of what you've done, the world has never been closer together before. In July 1962 NASA head James Webb announced that lunar orbit rendezvous would be used[32][33] and that the Apollo spacecraft would have three major parts: a command module (CM) with a cabin for the three astronauts, and the only part that returned to Earth; a service module (SM), which supported the command module with propulsion, electrical power, oxygen, and water; and a lunar module (LM) that had two stages—a descent stage for landing on the Moon, and an ascent stage to place the astronauts back into lunar orbit. The astronauts also left medals honoring the late Russian cosmonauts Vladimir Komarov and Yuri Gagarin. Plaques deployed. [134] Some of the highest heart rates recorded from Apollo astronauts occurred during LM egress and ingress. [77], Neil Armstrong's LM PPK contained a piece of wood from the Wright brothers' 1903 Wright Flyer's left propeller and a piece of fabric from its wing,[78] along with a diamond-studded astronaut pin originally given to Slayton by the widows of the Apollo 1 crew. "[150] But the astronauts struggled with the telescoping rod and could only jam the pole about 2 inches (5 cm) into the hard lunar surface. After 21.5 hours on the moon, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin blasted off from the lunar surface on July 21, 1969. (and Whitey's on the moon) Along with a technician, he helped Armstrong into the left hand couch at 06:54. The Eagle has landed. Each time he passed over the suspected lunar landing site, he tried in vain to find the module. A poem by Gil Scott-Heron called "Whitey on the Moon" illustrated the racial inequality in the United States that was highlighted by the Space Race. [118][119] Software engineer Don Eyles concluded in a 2005 Guidance and Control Conference paper that the problem was due to a hardware design bug previously seen during testing of the first uncrewed LM in Apollo 5. The site needed to be smooth, with relatively few craters; with approach paths free of large hills, tall cliffs or deep craters that might confuse the landing radar and cause it to issue incorrect readings; reachable with a minimum amount of propellant; allowing for delays in the launch countdown; providing the Apollo spacecraft with a free-return trajectory, one that would allow it to coast around the Moon and safely return to Earth without requiring any engine firings should a problem arise on the way to the Moon; with good visibility during the landing approach, meaning the Sun would be between 7. a general slope of less than two degrees in the landing area. The closeout crew then left the launch complex about an hour before launch time. Neil Armstrong put his left foot on the rocky Moon. "When I consider the heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the Moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; What is man that Thou art mindful of him? Below you can find dates and hours of all Moon Phases in 1969. To those people tonight, we give a special thank you, and to all the other people that are listening and watching tonight, God bless you. Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? [267][268], Aldrin, Collins, and Armstrong's sons were hosted by President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. [95], The ascent stage of LM-5 Eagle arrived at the Kennedy Space Center on January 8, 1969, followed by the descent stage four days later, and CSM-107 Columbia on January 23. A family photograph. NASA landed the first two astronauts on the Moon on the evening of July 20, 1969. On this date, Apollo 11 astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong landed their moon module on a broad dark lunar lava flow, called the Sea of Tranquility. (but Whitey's on the moon) More recent digital analysis of the tape claims to reveal the "a" may have been spoken but obscured by static. [98] Fueling was completed by three hours before launch. Thanks a lot."[7][130]. [55] Armstrong did not agree with the assessment, and said "... all the crews I was on worked very well together. The Soviet government limited the release of information about the lunar landing, which affected the reaction. The efforts aim to prevent future missions from disturbing lunar dust and destroying the footprints and abandoned equipment from these historic missions. [40] In October 1968, Apollo 7 evaluated the command module in Earth orbit,[41] and in December Apollo 8 tested it in lunar orbit. Later NASA reports mentioned that Eagle's orbit had decayed, resulting in it impacting in an "uncertain location" on the lunar surface.[171]. [109] It lay about 25 kilometers (16 mi) southeast of the Surveyor 5 landing site, and 68 kilometers (42 mi) southwest of Ranger 8's crash site. July 1969, A.D. We came in peace for all mankind." Apollo 15 rover. The Apollo missions left many pieces of equipment behind when they returned from the Moon. "[195], After Nixon departed, Hornet was brought alongside the 5-short-ton (4.5 t) Columbia, which was lifted aboard by the ship's crane, placed on a dolly and moved next to the MQF. Missions are ordered by launch date. No one knows", "Lunar Sample Compendium: Contingency Soil (10010)", National Archives and Records Administration, "Richard Nixon: Telephone Conversation With the Apollo 11 Astronauts on the Moon", "Apollo 11 Astronauts Talk With Richard Nixon From the Surface of the Moon - AT&T Archives", "Moon-walk mineral discovered in Western Australia", "Neil Armstrong Explains His Famous Apollo 11 Moonwalk", "The Story of a Tragedy That Was Not to Be", "The untold story: how one small silicon disc delivered a giant message to the Moon", "American flags still standing on the Moon, say scientists", NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive, "The 10-year-old who helped Apollo 11, 40 years later", "Press Kit—Apollo 11 Lunar Landing Mission", "Remarks to Apollo 11 Astronauts Aboard the U.S.S. It was revealed in 1989 that the Soviets had tried to send people to the Moon, but were unable due to technological difficulties. This pin had been intended to be flown on that mission and given to Slayton afterwards, but following the disastrous launch pad fire and subsequent funerals, the widows gave the pin to Slayton. Ringed by footprints, sitting in the moondust, lies a 2-foot wide panel studded with 100 mirrors pointing at Earth: the "lunar laser ranging retroreflector array." [251] From July 16 to 24, 2009, NASA streamed the original mission audio on its website in real time 40 years to the minute after the events occurred. The current condition of these flags is a subject of speculation. The Apollo 11 mission used Hasselbad 500ELM cameras, a camera which had been available commercially for about 5 years at the time. A collection of science experiments called the Early Apollo Scientific Experiment Package stayed on the lunar surface after the astronauts departed. Zheia. They are handled only indirectly, using special tools. They experienced forces of about 1.2g at liftoff and reached a maximum force of about 3.9g. [232][233][234], The descent stage of the LM Eagle remains on the Moon. Find out more about Apollo 9 and 10 And as you talk to us from the Sea of Tranquility, it inspires us to redouble our efforts to bring peace and tranquility to Earth. All have subsequently been found on Earth. Another monitored the effects of lunar dust on other equipment. Why choose this as our goal? On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong put his left foot on the rocky Moon. All this is possible only through the blood, sweat, and tears of a number of people ... All you see is the three of us, but beneath the surface are thousands and thousands of others, and to all of those, I would like to say, "Thank you very much. While this was enough for mission planners to make their decision, Aldrin and Armstrong were left in the dark on the decision until late spring. [145][146][147], About seven minutes after stepping onto the Moon's surface, Armstrong collected a contingency soil sample using a sample bag on a stick. The two astronauts returned to orbit, joining Collins. Now 107 feet (33 m) above the surface, Armstrong knew their propellant supply was dwindling and was determined to land at the first possible landing site. Webster Presbyterian possesses the chalice used on the Moon and commemorates the event each year on the Sunday closest to July 20. [134] Armstrong reminded Aldrin of a bag of memorial items in his sleeve pocket, and Aldrin tossed the bag down. Armstrong then jumped onto the ladder's third rung, and climbed into the LM. [104] About two-thirds were from the United States; the rest came from 55 other countries. [58], The capsule communicator (CAPCOM) was an astronaut at the Mission Control Center in Houston, Texas, who was the only person who communicated directly with the flight crew. In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing this weekend, Florida Today has a … But he gave "a crisp West Point salute". "[55], The backup crew consisted of Lovell as Commander, William Anders as CMP, and Haise as LMP. [136], Eagle's hatch was opened at 02:39:33. Seven minutes later Columbia struck the water forcefully 2,660 km (1,440 nmi) east of Wake Island, 380 km (210 nmi) south of Johnston Atoll, and 24 km (13 nmi) from Hornet,[6][182] at 13°19′N 169°9′W / 13.317°N 169.150°W / 13.317; -169.150. On his first orbits on the back side of the Moon, Collins performed maintenance activities such as dumping excess water produced by the fuel cells and preparing the cabin for Armstrong and Aldrin to return. If the computer hadn't recognized this problem and taken recovery action, I doubt if Apollo 11 would have been the successful Moon landing it was. Loose equipment from the spacecraft remained in isolation until the lunar samples were released for study. Or it could have been the result of Eagle's pirouette maneuver.[113][114]. I'm talking to you by telephone from the Oval Room at the White House. [47] Lovell and Aldrin had previously flown together as the crew of Gemini 12. Armstrong also flew on NASA's Gemini 8 mission in 1966. [168] In the 48 minutes of each orbit when he was out of radio contact with the Earth while Columbia passed round the far side of the Moon, the feeling he reported was not fear or loneliness, but rather "awareness, anticipation, satisfaction, confidence, almost exultation". [256] "We expect that there is, as we speak, another generation of kids out there who are looking up at the sky and are going to be the next Armstrong, Collins, and Aldrin", Obama said. [12] The MESA failed to provide a stable work platform and was in shadow, slowing work somewhat. Congress—OpenCongress", "Moon landings: British scientists salute space heroes", 114–282: Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act (text), "Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Program", "Google (and Apollo 11's Michael Collins) Celebrate Moon Landing's 50th with EPIC Google Doodle", "Apollo 11 astronauts reunite on 50th anniversary of moonshot", "Trump, Apollo 11 astronauts discuss merits of going to moon before Mars", "The moon shoot: film of Apollo mission on show again after 35 years in the can", "On Eagle's Wings: The Parkes Observatory's Support of the Apollo 11 Mission", The Eagle Has Landed: The Flight of Apollo 11, Apollo 11: As They Photographed It (Augmented Reality), Commercial Orbital Transportation Services, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Apollo_11&oldid=995552174, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages, Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2018, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Geologist who trained astronauts in field geology. The disc bears the words "From Planet Earth, July 1969" in the center. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong put his left foot on the rocky Moon. At the time the Soviet Union was attempting to retrieve lunar samples robotically. "[93], The media accused Armstrong of exercising his commander's prerogative to exit the spacecraft first. Drastic cuts, warned Caspar Weinberger, the deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, might send a signal that "our best years are behind us". There were three shows per night on July 19–20, with the last show on Saturday, delayed slightly so the portion where Armstrong first set foot on the Moon would happen exactly 50 years to the second after the actual event. Each Apollo mission left a commemorative plaque on the surface of the moon. July 1969… Images taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) have shown that the American flags left on the Moon by Apollo astronauts are still standing– except for the Apollo 11 mission, which Buzz Aldrin reported as being knocked over by engine exhaust as Apollo 11 lifted off.