Almost 33 years to the day after his journey to the lunar surface, the inflight coverall jacket, he wore on his mission to the Moon and back in Apollo 11, was sold for $2,772,500 at Sotheby's in New York City.
Fifty years ago on July 20, 1969 with these words American astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin "Buzz" E Aldrin made history by becoming the first human beings to set foot on another world -- the moon. It was an event that was watched by millions on television and one that remains etched in all our memories. Collected here are 17 images of that historic mission, a "giant leap for mankind".
In an impressive ceremony at the White House, commemorating the 40 years of the Moon mission, Obama honoured Apollo 11 Mission Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin and hailed them as 'three iconic figures'.
'In a part of the world where the government tells people what not to eat and what slogans to shout and not shout, it is beneficial to develop a mentality that is science minded and therefore open-minded.' 'That is possibly why the space programme has always had support from all sides of the political divide,' says Aakar Patel.
"I apologise for the inconvenience", United States astronaut Neil Armstrong told Indira Gandhi when informed that the Indian prime minister had kept awake till 4:30 am to watch him land on the moon on July 20, 1969.
It has been a half-century since Neil Armstrong stepped out of a lunar module and onto the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969 and declared, "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." The moment heralded a golden age of space exploration that was set in motion just eight years earlier in 1961, when United States President John F Kennedy promised before Congress to put a man on the moon before the decade was out. Here are some lesser-known facts about the historic first mission:
Thirty-six years to the day since Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon, Google Inc. extended its mapping service to cover the lunar surface.