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Rediff.com  » News » 'One small step for man'... 45 years later
This article was first published 9 years ago

'One small step for man'... 45 years later

July 24, 2014 13:23 IST

Image: United States astronaut Buzz Aldrin salutes the American flag on the surface of the Moon after he and fellow astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first men to land on the Moon during the Apollo 11 space mission.
Photographs: Neil Armstrong/NASA/Reuters

United States President Barack Obama marks the 45th anniversary of the first moon landing. 

On July 20, 1969, three United States astronauts -- Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin – made history when the landed on the moon for the first time on the Apollo 11 mission. 

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'One small step for man'... 45 years later

Image: US President Barack Obama meets with Apollo 11 astronauts Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin and Michael Collins.
Photographs: Joshua Roberts/Reuters

45 years later, US President Barack Obama met with the astronauts. He met Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins and Neil Armstrong’s widow, Carol Armstrong in the Oval Office and celebrated the successful moon landing. Neil Armstrong died in August 2012. 

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'One small step for man'... 45 years later

Image: Neil Armstrong's footprint on the surface of the moon.
Photographs: NASA

Speaking on the occasion, Obama said, “The three brave astronauts… took the first small steps of our giant leap into the future. They and their families have served as testaments to ingenuity and human achievement.”

“It was a seminal moment not just in our country’s history, but the history of all humankind,” Obama further said in a statement. 

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Tags: Obama

'One small step for man'... 45 years later

Image: An Apollo 11 emblem, flown into lunar orbit and signed by the crew - Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin, is displayed as part of the upcoming Space History Sale at Bonham's auction house in New York.
Photographs: Brendan McDermid/Reuters

Furthermore, to celebrate the 45th anniversary of his historic moon landing, Buzz Aldrin tweeted a selfie he took in the space during Gemini 12 training mission in 1966. He is the first person to take a selfie in the space. Separately, a historic building in KennedySpaceCenter has been renamed after Neil Armstrong.