View source for Engineering:Apollo 11

{{Short description|First crewed Moon landing}}
{{Pp-semi-indef}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name                  = Apollo 11
| image                 = Aldrin Apollo 11 original.jpg
| image_caption         = [[Biography:Buzz Aldrin|Buzz Aldrin]] on the [[Astronomy:Moon|Moon]] in a photograph taken by Neil Armstrong, who can be seen in the visor reflection along with [[Astronomy:Earth|Earth]],<ref name="Byrne. 2019">{{cite web | last=Byrne. | first=Dave | title=Apollo 11 Image Library | website=hq.nasa.gov | date=2019-07-08 | url=https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/images11.html#Mag37 | access-date=2021-06-10 | archive-date=February 24, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200224163200/https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/images11.html#Mag37 | url-status=live }}</ref> the [[Engineering:Lunar Module Eagle|Lunar Module ''Eagle'']], and the U.S. flag
| insignia              = Apollo 11 insignia.png
| insignia_alt          = Circular insignia: eagle with wings outstretched holds olive branch on Moon with Earth in background, in blue and gold border.
| mission_type          = Crewed lunar landing ([[Astronomy:List of Apollo missions#Alphabetical mission types|G]])
| operator              = [[Organization:NASA|NASA]]
| COSPAR_ID             = {{Unbulleted list
  |CSM: 1969-059A
  |LM: 1969-059C
}}
| SATCAT                = {{Unbulleted list
  |CSM: 4039<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1969-059A|title=Apollo 11 Command and Service Module (CSM)|website=NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive|access-date=November 20, 2019|archive-date=February 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210210000804/https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1969-059A|url-status=live}}</ref>
  |LM: 4041<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1969-059C|title=Apollo 11 Lunar Module / EASEP|website=NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive|access-date=November 20, 2019|archive-date=August 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190803160625/https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1969-059C|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}
| mission_duration      = 8&nbsp;days, 3&nbsp;hours, 18&nbsp;minutes, 35&nbsp;seconds
| spacecraft            = {{Unbulleted list
  |[[Engineering:Apollo command and service module|Apollo CSM]]-107
  |[[Engineering:Apollo Lunar Module|Apollo LM]]-5
}}
| manufacturer          = {{Unbulleted list
  |CSM: North American Rockwell<ref name="mfr">{{cite web |title=Apollo 11 Press Kit |url=https://www.history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/Apollo11_Press-Kit_restored.pdf |publisher=history.nasa.gov |access-date=16 December 2022 |archive-date=January 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230106050321/https://www.history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/Apollo11_Press-Kit_restored.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
  |LM: [[Company:Grumman|Grumman]]<ref name="mfr"></ref>
}}
| launch_mass           = {{convert|109646|lb|kg}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Ground Ignition Weights |url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/Apollo_18-19_Ground_Ignition_Weights.htm |publisher=history.nasa.gov |access-date=31 May 2022}}</ref>
| landing_mass          = {{convert|10873|lb|kg}}
| launch_date           = {{start-date|July 16, 1969, 13:32:00|timezone=yes}}&nbsp;UTC<ref name="Mission Overview" />
| launch_rocket         = [[Engineering:Saturn V|Saturn V]] SA-506
| launch_site           = Kennedy Space Center [[Astronomy:Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39|LC-39]][[Astronomy:Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A|A]]
| landing_date          = {{end-date|July 24, 1969, 16:50:35|timezone=yes}} UTC
| landing_site          = {{unbulleted list|North Pacific Ocean|{{Coord|13|19|N|169|9|W|type:event|name=Apollo 11 splashdown}}}}
| recovery_by           = {{USS|Hornet|CV-12|6}}
| orbit_epoch           = July 19, 1969, 21:44&nbsp;UTC<ref name="orbit">{{cite web |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/apollo/apollo-program/landing-missions/apollo11.cfm |title=Apollo 11 Mission Summary |website=Smithsonian Air and Space Museum |access-date=September 6, 2019 |archive-date=February 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209050759/https://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/apollo/apollo-program/landing-missions/apollo11.cfm |url-status=live }}</ref>
| orbit_reference       = [[Astronomy:Lunar orbit|Selenocentric]]
| orbit_periapsis       = {{convert|54.5|nmi|km|order=flip|sp=us}}<ref name="orbit" />
| orbit_apoapsis        = {{convert|66.1|nmi|km|order=flip|sp=us}}<ref name="orbit" />
| orbit_inclination     = 1.25&nbsp;degrees<ref name="orbit" />
| orbit_period          = 2&nbsp;hours<ref name="orbit" />
| apsis                 = selene
|interplanetary         =
 {{Infobox spaceflight/IP
   |type                = orbiter
   |object              = [[Astronomy:Moon|Lunar]]
   |component           = [[Engineering:Apollo command and service module|Command and service module]]
   |orbits              = 30
   |arrival_date        = July 19, 1969, 17:21:50&nbsp;UTC{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=106}}
   |departure_date      = July 22, 1969, 04:55:42&nbsp;UTC{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=109}}
 }}
 {{Infobox spaceflight/IP
   |type                = lander
   |object              = [[Astronomy:Moon|Lunar]]
   |component           = [[Engineering:Apollo Lunar Module|Apollo Lunar Module]]
   |arrival_date        = July 20, 1969, 20:17:40&nbsp;UTC<ref name="ALSJ 1" />
   |departure_date      = July 21, 1969, 17:54:00&nbsp;UTC{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=97}}|location ={{unbulleted list|[[Astronomy:Tranquility Base|Tranquility Base]],|[[Astronomy:Mare Tranquillitatis|Mare Tranquillitatis]]|{{Lunar coords and quad cat|0.67416|N|23.47314|E}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/lunar_sites.html |title=Apollo Landing Site Coordinates |publisher=NASA |work=NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive |first=David R. |last=Williams |date=December 11, 2003 |access-date=October 18, 2021 |archive-date=December 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225003326/https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/lunar_sites.html |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
   |sample_mass         = {{convert|47.51|lb|kg|order=flip}}
   |surface_EVAs        = 1
   |surface_EVA_time    = 2&nbsp;hours, 31&nbsp;minutes, 40&nbsp;seconds
  }}
| docking               =
 {{Infobox spaceflight/Dock
   | docking_target     = LM
   | docking_type       = dock
   | docking_date       = July 16, 1969, 16:56:03&nbsp;UTC{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=106}}
   | undocking_date     = July 20, 1969, 17:44:00&nbsp;UTC{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=107}}
   | time_docked        =
 }}
 {{Infobox spaceflight/Dock
   | docking_target     = LM ascent stage
   | docking_type       = dock
   | docking_date       = July 21, 1969, 21:35:00&nbsp;UTC{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=109}}
   | undocking_date     = July 21, 1969, 23:41:31&nbsp;UTC{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=109}}
   | time_docked        =
 }}
| crew_size             = 3
| crew_members          = {{Unbulleted list
  |Neil A. Armstrong
  |Michael Collins
  |[[Biography:Buzz Aldrin|Edwin E. Aldrin Jr.]]
}}
| crew_callsign         = {{Unbulleted list
  |CSM: ''Columbia''
  |LM: ''[[Engineering:Lunar Module Eagle|Eagle]]''
  |On surface: ''[[Astronomy:Tranquility Base|Tranquility Base]]''
}}
| crew_photo            = apollo 11.jpg
| crew_photo_caption    = Left to right: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, [[Biography:Buzz Aldrin|Buzz Aldrin]]
| crew_photo_alt        = Apollo 11 crew
| previous_mission      = [[Engineering:Apollo 10|Apollo 10]]
| next_mission          = [[Engineering:Apollo 12|Apollo 12]]
| programme             = [[Astronomy:Apollo program|Apollo program]]
}}

'''Apollo 11''' (July 16–24, 1969) was the American [[Astronomy:Human spaceflight|spaceflight]] that first [[Astronomy:Moon landing|landed]] humans on the [[Astronomy:Moon|Moon]]. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot [[Biography:Buzz Aldrin|Buzz Aldrin]] landed the [[Engineering:Apollo Lunar Module|Apollo Lunar Module]] [[Engineering:Lunar Module Eagle|''Eagle'']] on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 [[Physics:Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]], and Armstrong became the first person to step onto the Moon's surface six hours and 39 minutes later, on July 21 at 02:56 UTC. Aldrin joined him 19 minutes later, and they spent about two and a quarter hours together exploring the site they had named [[Astronomy:Tranquility Base|Tranquility Base]] upon landing. Armstrong and Aldrin collected {{convert|47.5|lb|kg}} of lunar material to bring back to Earth as pilot Michael Collins flew the Command Module ''Columbia'' in [[Astronomy:Lunar orbit|lunar orbit]], and were on the Moon's surface for 21 hours, 36 minutes before lifting off to rejoin ''Columbia''.

Apollo 11 was launched by a [[Engineering:Saturn V|Saturn V]] rocket from Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida, on July 16 at 13:32 UTC, and it was the fifth crewed mission of [[Organization:NASA|NASA]]'s [[Astronomy:Apollo program|Apollo program]]. The Apollo [[Engineering:Apollo (spacecraft)|spacecraft]] had three parts: a [[Engineering:Apollo command and service module#Command module (CM)|command module (CM)]] with a cabin for the three astronauts, 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 [[Engineering:Apollo Lunar Module|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.

After being [[Astronomy:Trans-lunar injection|sent to the Moon]] by the Saturn V's third stage, the astronauts separated the spacecraft from it and traveled for three days until they entered lunar orbit. Armstrong and Aldrin then moved into [[Engineering:Lunar Module Eagle|''Eagle'']] and landed in the Sea of Tranquility on July 20. The astronauts used ''Eagle''{{'}}s ascent stage to lift off from the lunar surface and rejoin Collins in the command module. They jettisoned ''Eagle'' before they performed the maneuvers that propelled ''Columbia'' out of the last of its 30 lunar orbits onto a trajectory back to Earth.{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=109}} They returned to Earth and [[Engineering:Splashdown|splashed down]] in the Pacific Ocean on July 24 after more than eight days in space.

Armstrong's first step onto the lunar surface was broadcast on [[Engineering:Live television|live TV]] to a worldwide audience. He described the event as "one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."{{efn|Eric Jones of the ''Apollo Lunar Surface Journal'' explains that the indefinite article "a" was intended, whether or not it was said; the intention was to contrast ''a man'' (an individual's action) and ''mankind'' (as a species).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.step.html#1092413|title=One Small Step|last1=Jones|first1=Eric|website=Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal|access-date=September 6, 2019|date=April 8, 2018|archive-date=September 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903233224/https://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.step.html#1092413|url-status=live}}</ref>|name=transcript}}<ref name="ALSJ 4" /> Apollo 11 effectively proved U.S. victory in the [[Astronomy:Space Race|Space Race]] to demonstrate spaceflight superiority, by fulfilling a national goal proposed in 1961 by President [[Biography:John F. Kennedy|John F. Kennedy]], "before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth."<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/TECH/space/05/25/kennedy.moon/ |title=Man on the Moon: Kennedy speech ignited the dream |website=CNN |last=Stenger |first=Richard |date=May 25, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100606035837/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/TECH/space/05/25/kennedy.moon/ |archive-date=June 6, 2010|access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref>

== Background ==

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the United States was engaged in the [[History:Cold War|Cold War]], a geopolitical rivalry with the [[Place:Soviet Union|Soviet Union]].{{sfn|Logsdon|1976|p=134}} On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched [[Engineering:Sputnik 1|Sputnik 1]], the first [[Astronomy:Satellite|artificial satellite]]. This surprise success fired fears and imaginations around the world. 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.{{sfn|Logsdon|1976|pp=13–15}} This precipitated the [[Engineering:Sputnik crisis|Sputnik crisis]], and triggered the [[Astronomy:Space Race|Space Race]] to prove which superpower would achieve superior spaceflight capability.{{sfn|Brooks|Grimwood|Swenson|1979|p=1}} President Dwight D. Eisenhower responded to the Sputnik challenge by creating the [[Organization:National Aeronautics and Space Administration|National Aeronautics and Space Administration]] (NASA), and initiating [[Astronomy:Project Mercury|Project Mercury]],{{sfn|Swenson|Grimwood|Alexander|1966|pp=101–106}} which aimed to launch a man into [[Astronomy:Geocentric orbit|Earth orbit]].{{sfn|Swenson|Grimwood|Alexander|1966|p=134}} But on April 12, 1961, Soviet [[Biography:Cosmonaut|cosmonaut]] [[Biography:Yuri Gagarin|Yuri Gagarin]] became the first person in space, and the first to orbit the Earth.{{sfn|Swenson|Grimwood|Alexander|1966|pp=332–333}} Nearly a month later, on May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American in space, completing a 15-minute suborbital journey. After being recovered from the Atlantic Ocean, he received a congratulatory telephone call from Eisenhower's successor, [[Biography:John F. Kennedy|John F. Kennedy]].{{sfn|Logsdon|1976|p=121}}

Since the [[Place:Soviet Union|Soviet Union]] had higher lift capacity [[Engineering:Launch vehicle|launch vehicle]]s, Kennedy chose, from among options presented by NASA, a challenge beyond the capacity of the existing generation of rocketry, so that the US and Soviet Union would be starting from a position of equality. A crewed mission to the Moon would serve this purpose.{{sfn|Logsdon|1976|pp=112–117}}

On May 25, 1961, Kennedy addressed the United States Congress on "Urgent National Needs" and declared:

{{Blockquote|I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade [1960s] is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish. We propose to accelerate the development of the appropriate lunar space craft. We propose to develop alternate liquid and solid fuel boosters, much larger than any now being developed, until certain which is superior. We propose additional funds for other engine development and for unmanned explorations—explorations which are particularly important for one purpose which this nation will never overlook: the survival of the man who first makes this daring flight. But in a very real sense, it will not be one man going to the Moon—if we make this judgment affirmatively, it will be an entire nation. For all of us must work to put him there. |source=Kennedy's speech to Congress<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/features/jfk_speech_text.html |title=Excerpt: 'Special Message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs' |publisher=NASA |access-date=September 16, 2018 |date=May 25, 1961 |archive-date=March 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301081146/https://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/features/jfk_speech_text.html |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

On September 12, 1962, Kennedy [[Astronomy:We choose to go to the Moon|delivered another speech]] before a crowd of about 40,000 people in the Rice University football stadium in Houston, Texas.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://scholarship.rice.edu/bitstream/handle/1911/49181/rt050i01.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|title='Visiting Professor' Kennedy Pushes Space Age Spending|last=Keilen|first=Eugene|date=September 19, 1962|newspaper=The Rice Thresher|access-date=March 11, 2018|page=1|archive-date=January 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122062150/https://scholarship.rice.edu/bitstream/handle/1911/49181/rt050i01.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.rice.edu/2012/08/30/jfks-1962-moon-speech-still-appeals-50-years-later/|title=JFK's 1962 Moon Speech Still Appeals 50 Years Later|last=Boyd|first=Jade|date=August 30, 2012|publisher=Rice University|access-date=March 20, 2018|archive-date=February 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202012645/http://news.rice.edu/2012/08/30/jfks-1962-moon-speech-still-appeals-50-years-later/|url-status=live}}</ref> A widely quoted refrain from the middle portion of the speech reads as follows:

{{blockquote|There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation may never come again. But why, some say, the Moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask, why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, [[Engineering:Spirit of St. Louis|fly the Atlantic]]? Why does Rice play Texas?
We choose to go to the Moon! We choose to go to the Moon&nbsp;... We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too.<ref>{{cite web |title=John F. Kennedy Moon Speech—Rice Stadium |publisher=NASA |access-date=March 19, 2018 |url=https://er.jsc.nasa.gov/seh/ricetalk.htm |archive-date=July 6, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706061817/http://er.jsc.nasa.gov/seh/ricetalk.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
[[File:John F. Kennedy speaks at Rice University.jpg|thumb|left|upright|alt=Kennedy, in a blue suit and tie, speaks at a wooden podium bearing the seal of the President of the United States. Vice President Lyndon Johnson and other dignitaries stand behind him.|President John F. Kennedy speaking at Rice University on September 12, 1962]]
In spite of that, the proposed program faced the opposition of many Americans and was dubbed a "moondoggle" by [[Biography:Norbert Wiener|Norbert Wiener]], a mathematician at the [[Organization:Massachusetts Institute of Technology|Massachusetts Institute of Technology]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/what-you-didnt-know-about-apollo-11-mission-fifty-years-ago-180972165/|title=What You Didn't Know About the Apollo 11 Mission|last=Fishman|first=Charles|website=Smithsonian|language=en|access-date=June 17, 2019|archive-date=February 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209133957/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/what-you-didnt-know-about-apollo-11-mission-fifty-years-ago-180972165/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/09/moondoggle-the-forgotten-opposition-to-the-apollo-program/262254/|title=Moondoggle: The Forgotten Opposition to the Apollo Program|last=Madrigal|first=Alexis C.|date=September 12, 2012|website=The Atlantic|language=en-US|access-date=June 17, 2019|archive-date=February 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227163332/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/09/moondoggle-the-forgotten-opposition-to-the-apollo-program/262254/|url-status=live}}</ref> The effort to land a man on the Moon already had a name: Project Apollo.{{sfn|Brooks|Grimwood|Swenson|1979|p=15}} When Kennedy met with Nikita Khrushchev, the Premier of the Soviet Union in June 1961, he proposed making the Moon landing a joint project, but Khrushchev did not take up the offer.{{sfn|Logsdon|2011|p=32}} Kennedy again proposed a joint expedition to the Moon in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly on September 20, 1963.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKPOF-046-041.aspx |access-date=March 11, 2018 |title=Address at 18th U.N. General Assembly |date=September 20, 1963 |publisher=John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum |archive-date=March 11, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180311081510/https://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKPOF-046-041.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> The idea of a joint Moon mission was abandoned after Kennedy's death.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Politico |title=JFK Proposes Joint Lunar Expedition with Soviets, September 20, 1963 |first=Andrew |last=Glass |date=September 20, 2017 |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/20/jfk-proposes-joint-lunar-expedition-with-soviets-sept-20-1963-242843 |access-date=March 19, 2018 |archive-date=September 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923005825/https://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/20/jfk-proposes-joint-lunar-expedition-with-soviets-sept-20-1963-242843 |url-status=live }}</ref>

An early and crucial decision was choosing [[Astronomy:Lunar orbit rendezvous|lunar orbit rendezvous]] over both [[Astronomy:Direct ascent|direct ascent]] and [[Astronomy:Earth orbit rendezvous|Earth orbit rendezvous]]. A [[Astronomy:Space rendezvous|space rendezvous]] is an [[Astronomy:Orbital maneuver|orbital maneuver]] in which two spacecraft navigate through space and meet up. In July 1962 NASA head James Webb announced that lunar orbit rendezvous would be used<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/news/factsheets/Rendezvous.html|title=The Rendezvous That Was Almost Missed: Lunar Orbit Rendezvous and the Apollo Program|date=December 1992|access-date=December 26, 2018|publisher=NASA|work=NASA Langley Research Center Office of Public Affairs|archive-date=December 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223201720/https://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/news/factsheets/Rendezvous.html|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Swenson|Grimwood|Alexander|1966|pp=85–86}} and that the [[Engineering:Apollo (spacecraft)|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.{{sfn|Brooks|Grimwood|Swenson|1979|pp=72–77}} This design meant the spacecraft could be launched by a single [[Engineering:Saturn V|Saturn V]] rocket that was then under development.{{sfn|Brooks|Grimwood|Swenson|1979|pp=48–49}}

Technologies and techniques required for Apollo were developed by [[Astronomy:Project Gemini|Project Gemini]].{{sfn|Brooks|Grimwood|Swenson|1979|pp=181–182, 205–208}} The Apollo project was enabled by NASA's adoption of new advances in [[Physics:Semiconductor|semiconductor]] electronic technology, including metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) in the [[Astronomy:Interplanetary Monitoring Platform|Interplanetary Monitoring Platform]] (IMP)<ref>{{cite book |title=Interplanetary Monitoring Platform |date=August 29, 1989 |publisher=[[Organization:NASA|NASA]] |pages=1, 11, 134 |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19800012928.pdf |access-date=August 12, 2019 |last1=Butler |first1=P. M. |archive-date=August 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190812022459/https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19800012928.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=White |first1=H. D. |last2=Lokerson |first2=D. C. |title=The Evolution of IMP Spacecraft Mosfet Data Systems |journal=IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science |date=1971 |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=233–236 |doi=10.1109/TNS.1971.4325871 |bibcode=1971ITNS...18..233W |issn=0018-9499}}</ref> and [[Chemistry:Silicon|silicon]] [[Engineering:Integrated circuit|integrated circuit]] (IC) chips in the [[Engineering:Apollo Guidance Computer|Apollo Guidance Computer]] (AGC).<ref>{{cite web |title=Apollo Guidance Computer and the First Silicon Chips |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/apollo-guidance-computer-and-first-silicon-chips |website=National Air and Space Museum |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |access-date=September 1, 2019 |date=October 14, 2015 |archive-date=May 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522064136/https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/apollo-guidance-computer-and-first-silicon-chips |url-status=live }}</ref>

Project Apollo was abruptly halted by the [[Engineering:Apollo 1|Apollo 1]] fire on January 27, 1967, in which astronauts Gus Grissom, [[Astronomy:Ed White (astronaut)|Ed White]], and Roger B. Chaffee died, and the subsequent investigation.{{sfn|Brooks|Grimwood|Swenson|1979|pp=214–218}} In October 1968, [[Engineering:Apollo 7|Apollo 7]] evaluated the command module in Earth orbit,{{sfn|Brooks|Grimwood|Swenson|1979|pp=265–272}} and in December [[Engineering:Apollo 8|Apollo 8]] tested it in lunar orbit.{{sfn|Brooks|Grimwood|Swenson|1979|pp=274–284}} In March 1969, [[Engineering:Apollo 9|Apollo 9]] put the lunar module through its paces in Earth orbit,{{sfn|Brooks|Grimwood|Swenson|1979|pp=292–300}} and in May [[Engineering:Apollo 10|Apollo 10]] conducted a "dress rehearsal" in lunar orbit. By July 1969, all was in readiness for Apollo 11 to take the final step onto the Moon.{{sfn|Brooks|Grimwood|Swenson|1979|pp=303–312}}

The Soviet Union appeared  to be winning the Space Race by beating the US to firsts, but its early lead was overtaken by the US [[Astronomy:Project Gemini|Gemini program]] and Soviet failure to develop the [[Engineering:N1 (rocket)|N1 launcher]], which would have been comparable to the Saturn V.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/science-technology-and-society/sts-471j-engineering-apollo-the-moon-project-as-a-complex-system-spring-2007/readings/soviet_mand_lunr.pdf |title=The Soviet Manned Lunar Program |last=Lindroos |first=Marcus |work=MIT OpenCourseWare |publisher=[[Organization:Massachusetts Institute of Technology|Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] |access-date=October 4, 2011 |archive-date=June 11, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611095346/http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/science-technology-and-society/sts-471j-engineering-apollo-the-moon-project-as-a-complex-system-spring-2007/readings/soviet_mand_lunr.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The Soviets tried to beat the US to return lunar material to the Earth by means of [[Engineering:Uncrewed spacecraft|uncrewed probes]]. On July 13, three days before Apollo 11's launch, the Soviet Union launched [[Astronomy:Luna 15|Luna 15]], which reached lunar orbit before Apollo 11. During descent, a malfunction caused Luna 15 to crash in [[Astronomy:Mare Crisium|Mare Crisium]] about two hours before Armstrong and Aldrin took off from the Moon's surface to begin their voyage home. The Nuffield Radio Astronomy Laboratories radio telescope in England recorded transmissions from Luna 15 during its descent, and these were released in July 2009 for the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11.<ref>{{cite news |title=Recording tracks Russia's Moon gatecrash attempt |first=Jonathan |last=Brown |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/recording-tracks-russias-moon-gatecrash-attempt-1730851.html |work=The Independent |location=London |date=July 3, 2009 |access-date=January 10, 2011 |archive-date=September 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110910011624/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/recording-tracks-russias-moon-gatecrash-attempt-1730851.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Personnel ==
=== Prime crew ===

{{Spaceflight crew
|terminology  = Astronaut
|position1    = Commander
|crew1_up     = Neil A. Armstrong
|flights1_up  = Second and last
|position2    = Command Module Pilot
|crew2_up     = Michael Collins
|flights2_up  = Second and last
|position3    = Lunar Module Pilot
|crew3_up     = [[Biography:Buzz Aldrin|Edwin "Buzz" E. Aldrin Jr.]]
|flights3_up  = Second and last
}}

The initial crew assignment of Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot (CMP) [[Biography:Jim Lovell|Jim Lovell]], and Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) [[Biography:Buzz Aldrin|Buzz Aldrin]] on the backup crew for Apollo&nbsp;9 was officially announced on November 20, 1967.{{sfn|Brooks|Grimwood|Swenson|1979|p=374}} Lovell and Aldrin had previously flown together as the crew of [[Astronomy:Gemini 12|Gemini 12]]. Due to design and manufacturing delays in the LM, Apollo&nbsp;8 and Apollo&nbsp;9 swapped prime and backup crews, and Armstrong's crew became the backup for Apollo&nbsp;8. Based on the normal crew rotation scheme, Armstrong was then expected to command Apollo 11.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=312–313}}

There would be one change. Michael Collins, the CMP on the Apollo&nbsp;8 crew, began experiencing trouble with his legs. Doctors diagnosed the problem as a bony growth between his fifth and sixth vertebrae, requiring surgery.{{sfn|Collins|2001|pp=288–289}} Lovell took his place on the Apollo&nbsp;8 crew, and when Collins recovered he joined Armstrong's crew as CMP. In the meantime, [[Biography:Fred Haise|Fred Haise]] filled in as backup LMP, and Aldrin as backup CMP for Apollo 8.{{sfn|Cunningham|2010|p=109}} Apollo 11 was the second American mission where all the crew members had prior spaceflight experience,{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=90}} the first being Apollo 10.{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=72}} The next was [[Engineering:STS-26|STS-26]] in 1988.{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=90}}

[[Biography:Deke Slayton|Deke Slayton]] gave Armstrong the option to replace Aldrin with Lovell, since some thought Aldrin was difficult to work with. Armstrong had no issues working with Aldrin but thought it over for a day before declining. He thought Lovell deserved to command his own mission (eventually [[Engineering:Apollo 13|Apollo 13]]).{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=338–339}}

The Apollo 11 prime crew had none of the close cheerful camaraderie characterized by that of [[Engineering:Apollo 12|Apollo 12]]. Instead, they forged an amiable working relationship. Armstrong in particular was notoriously aloof, but Collins, who considered himself a loner, confessed to rebuffing Aldrin's attempts to create a more personal relationship.{{sfn|Collins|2001|pp=434–435}} Aldrin and Collins described the crew as "amiable strangers".{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=359}} Armstrong did not agree with the assessment, and said "...&nbsp;all the crews I was on worked very well together."{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=359}}

=== Backup crew ===

{{Spaceflight crew
|terminology  = Astronaut
|position1    = Commander
|crew1_up     = [[Biography:Jim Lovell|James A. Lovell Jr.]]
|position2    = Command Module Pilot
|crew2_up     = [[Biography:William Anders|William A. Anders]]
|position3    = Lunar Module Pilot
|crew3_up     = [[Biography:Fred Haise|Fred W. Haise Jr.]]
}}

The backup crew consisted of Lovell as Commander, [[Biography:William Anders|William Anders]] as CMP, and Haise as LMP. Anders had flown with Lovell on Apollo&nbsp;8.{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=90}} In early 1969, Anders accepted a job with the National Aeronautics and Space Council effective August 1969, and announced he would retire as an astronaut at that time. [[Biography:Ken Mattingly|Ken Mattingly]] was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup CMP in case Apollo 11 was delayed past its intended July launch date, at which point Anders would be unavailable.{{sfn|Slayton|Cassutt|1994|p=237}}

By the normal crew rotation in place during Apollo, Lovell, Mattingly, and Haise were scheduled to fly on [[Engineering:Apollo 14|Apollo 14]], but the three of them were bumped to [[Engineering:Apollo 13|Apollo 13]]: there was a crew issue for Apollo 13 as none of them except [[Biography:Edgar Mitchell|Edgar Mitchell]] flew in space again. George Mueller rejected the crew and this was the first time an Apollo crew was rejected. To give Alan Shepard more training time, Lovell's crew were bumped to Apollo 13. Mattingly would later be replaced by Jack Swigert as CMP on Apollo 13. {{sfn|Slayton|Cassutt|1994|p=237}}

=== Support crew ===

During Projects Mercury and Gemini, each mission had a prime and a backup crew. For Apollo, a third crew of astronauts was added, known as the support crew. The support crew maintained the flight plan, checklists and mission ground rules, and ensured the prime and backup crews were apprised of changes. They developed procedures, especially those for emergency situations, so these were ready for when the prime and backup crews came to train in the simulators, allowing them to concentrate on practicing and mastering them.{{sfn|Brooks|Grimwood|Swenson|1979|p=261}} For Apollo 11, the support crew consisted of Ken Mattingly, Ronald Evans and Bill Pogue.{{sfn|Brooks|Grimwood|Swenson|1979|p=375}}

=== Capsule communicators ===

[[File:Duke, Lovell and Haise at the Apollo 11 Capcom, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas - 19690720.jpg|thumb|CAPCOM Charles Duke (left), with backup crewmen Jim Lovell and Fred Haise listening in during Apollo 11's descent]]

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.{{sfn|Kranz|2000|p=27}} For Apollo 11, the CAPCOMs were: Charles Duke, Ronald Evans, Bruce McCandless II, James Lovell, William Anders, Ken Mattingly, Fred Haise, [[Biography:Don L. Lind|Don L. Lind]], Owen K. Garriott and Harrison Schmitt.{{sfn|Brooks|Grimwood|Swenson|1979|p=375}}

=== Flight directors ===

The [[Engineering:Flight controller#FLIGHT|flight directors]] for this mission were:{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=272}}{{sfn|Kranz|2000|pp=230, 236, 273, 320}}<ref name="NASA-SP4223">{{Cite book |url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4223/ch9.htm |title=SP-4223: Before This Decade is Out—Personal Reflections on the Apollo Program—Chapter 9—Glynn S. Lunney |editor=Glen E. Swanson |date=August 5, 2004 |publisher=[[Organization:NASA|NASA]] |page=211 |isbn=978-0-16-050139-5 |quote=Apollo 11 flight directors pose for a group photo in the Mission Control Center. Pictured left to right, and the shifts that they served during the mission, are (in front and sitting) Clifford E. Charlesworth (Shift 1), Gerald D. Griffin (Shift 1), Eugene F. Kranz (Shift 2), Milton L. Windler (Shift 4), and Glynn S. Lunney (Shift 3). (NASA Photo S-69-39192.) |access-date=June 21, 2019 |archive-date=February 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227181902/https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4223/ch9.htm |url-status=live }}<!-- Original scan at https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20000027506.pdf --></ref><ref name="Murray-Cox">{{cite book |last1=Murray |first1=Charles A. |last2=Cox |first2=Catherine Bly |title=Apollo, the race to the moon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=faIQAQAAMAAJ&q=windler |publisher=Simon & Schuster |access-date=June 9, 2019 |date=July 1989 |pages=356, 403, 437 |isbn=978-0-671-61101-9 |archive-date=May 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522062612/https://books.google.com/books?id=faIQAQAAMAAJ&q=windler |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="A11FJ-4-4">{{cite web |last1=Woods |first1=David |last2=MacTaggart |first2=Ken |last3=O'Brien |first3=Frank |title=Day 4, part 4: Checking Out Eagle |url=https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap11fj/15day4-eagle-checkout.html |via=[[Organization:NASA|NASA]] |date=May 18, 2019 |publisher=Apollo Flight Journal |access-date=June 21, 2019 |archive-date=February 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224223910/https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap11fj/15day4-eagle-checkout.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="A11FJ-3-1">{{cite web |last1=Woods |first1=David |last2=MacTaggart |first2=Ken |last3=O'Brien |first3=Frank |title=Day 3, part 1: Viewing Africa and Breakfast |url=https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap11fj/08day3-africa-breakfast.html |via=NASA |date=May 18, 2019 |publisher=Apollo Flight Journal |access-date=June 21, 2019 |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112013800/https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap11fj/08day3-africa-breakfast.html |url-status=live }}</ref><!--
Sources are inconsistent. Resolved at Talk:Apollo 11#Semi-protected edit request on 8 June 2019
-->
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Apollo 11 flight directors
|-
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | Shift
! scope="col" | Team
! scope="col" | Activities
|-
! scope="row" | [[Biography:Clifford E. Charlesworth|Clifford E. Charlesworth]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 1 || Green || Launch and extravehicular activity (EVA)
|-
! scope="row" | Gerald D. Griffin
| style="text-align:center;" | 1 || Gold || Backup for shift 1
|-
! scope="row" | [[Biography:Gene Kranz|Gene Kranz]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 2 || White || Lunar landing
|-
! scope="row" | [[Biography:Glynn Lunney|Glynn Lunney]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 3 || Black || Lunar ascent
|-
! scope="row" | Milton Windler
| style="text-align:center;" | 4 || Maroon || Planning
|}

=== Other key personnel ===

Other key personnel who played important roles in the Apollo 11 mission include the following.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Reichhardt |first1=Tony |title=Twenty People Who Made Apollo Happen |url=https://www.airspacemag.com/airspacemag/twenty-people-who-made-apollo-happen-180972374/ |website=Air & Space/Smithsonian |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |date=June 7, 2019 |access-date=September 7, 2019 |archive-date=October 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025222628/https://www.airspacemag.com/airspacemag/twenty-people-who-made-apollo-happen-180972374/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Other personnel
|-
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | Activities
|-
! scope="row" | [[Biography:Farouk El-Baz|Farouk El-Baz]]
| [[Geologist]], studied [[Astronomy:Geology of the Moon|geology of the Moon]], identified landing locations, trained pilots
|-
! scope="row" | Kurt Debus
| Rocket scientist, supervised construction of launch pads and infrastructure
|-
! scope="row" | Jamye Flowers
| Secretary for astronauts
|-
! scope="row" | Eleanor Foraker
| Tailor who designed [[Astronomy:Space suit|space suit]]s
|-
! scope="row" | Jack Garman
| [[Computer]] engineer and technician
|-
! scope="row" | Millicent Goldschmidt
| Microbiologist who designed aseptic lunar material collection techniques and trained astronauts
|-
! scope="row" | [[Biography:Eldon C. Hall|Eldon C. Hall]]
| [[Engineering:Apollo Guidance Computer|Apollo Guidance Computer]] hardware designer
|-
! scope="row" | [[Biography:Margaret Hamilton (software engineer)|Margaret Hamilton]]
| Onboard flight computer [[Engineering:Software engineer|software engineer]]
|-
! scope="row" | John Houbolt
| Route planner
|-
! scope="row" | Gene Shoemaker
| Geologist who trained astronauts in field geology
|-
! scope="row" | Bill Tindall
| Coordinated mission techniques
|}

== Preparations ==
=== Insignia ===

[[File:Apollo 11 insignia.png|thumb|Apollo 11 insignia]]

The Apollo 11 mission emblem was designed by Collins, who wanted a symbol for "peaceful lunar landing by the United States". At Lovell's suggestion, he chose the [[Biology:Bald eagle|bald eagle]], the national bird of the United States, as the symbol. Tom Wilson, a simulator instructor, suggested an olive branch in its beak to represent their peaceful mission. Collins added a lunar background with the Earth in the distance. 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. Aldrin, Armstrong and Collins decided the Eagle and the Moon would be in their natural colors, and decided on a blue and gold border. Armstrong was concerned that "eleven" would not be understood by non-English speakers, so they went with "Apollo 11",{{sfn|Collins|2001|pp=332–334}} and they decided not to put their names on the patch, so it would "be representative of ''everyone'' who had worked toward a lunar landing".{{sfn|Collins|2001|p=332}}

An illustrator at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) did the artwork, which was then sent off to NASA officials for approval.{{sfn|Collins|2001|pp=332–334}} The design was rejected. Bob Gilruth, the director of the MSC felt the talons of the eagle looked "too warlike".{{sfn|Collins|2001|p=333}} After some discussion, the olive branch was moved to the talons.{{sfn|Collins|2001|p=333}} When the [[Astronomy:Eisenhower dollar|Eisenhower dollar coin]] was released in 1971, the patch design provided the eagle for its reverse side.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://coinsite.com/CoinSite-PF/pparticles/$1eisen.asp |title=1971–78 Dollar Eisenhower |work=CoinSite |publisher=ROKO Design Group, Inc. |date=1994 |access-date=July 20, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130830064148/http://www.coinsite.com/CoinSite-PF/pparticles/$1eisen.asp |archive-date=August 30, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The design was also used for the smaller [[Astronomy:Susan B. Anthony dollar|Susan B. Anthony dollar]] unveiled in 1979.<ref>{{cite web |title=Susan B. Anthony Dollar—1979–1999 |url=http://www.usmint.gov/historianscorner/?action=coinDetail&id=347 |publisher=United States Mint |access-date=August 12, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811123227/https://www.usmint.gov/historianscorner/?action=coinDetail&id=347 |archive-date=August 11, 2014}}</ref>

=== Call signs ===
[[File:NASM-NASM2013-02663.jpg|thumb|Original cockpit of the command module (CM) with three seats, photographed from above. It is located in the National Air and Space Museum, the very high resolution image was produced in 2007 by the Smithsonian Institution.]]
After the crew of Apollo 10 named their spacecraft ''Charlie Brown'' and ''Snoopy'', assistant manager for public affairs Julian Scheer wrote to George Low, the Manager of the Apollo Spacecraft Program Office at the MSC, to suggest the Apollo 11 crew be less flippant in naming their craft. 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.{{sfn|Marshall Space Flight Center|1969|p=8}}

The LM was named ''[[Engineering:Lunar Module Eagle|Eagle]]'' after the motif which was featured prominently on the mission insignia. At Scheer's suggestion, the CM was named ''[[Engineering:Command module Columbia|Columbia]]'' after ''[[Engineering:Columbiad#In fiction|Columbiad]]'', the giant cannon that launched a spacecraft (also from Florida) in Jules Verne's 1865 novel ''From the Earth to the Moon''. It also referred to Columbia, a historical name of the United States. {{sfn|Collins|2001|pp=334–335}}{{sfn|Brooks|Grimwood|Swenson|1979|p=331}} In Collins' 1976 book, he said ''Columbia'' was in reference to Christopher Columbus.{{sfn|Collins|1994|p=116}}

=== Mementos ===

[[File:Apollo 11 Flown Silver Robbins Medallion (SN-416).jpg|thumb|alt=see caption|Apollo 11 space-flown silver [[Astronomy:NASA space-flown Gemini and Apollo medallions|Robbins medallion]]]]

The astronauts had [[Astronomy:Personal preference kit|personal preference kit]]s (PPKs), small bags containing personal items of significance they wanted to take with them on the mission.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/kit-pilots-personal-preference-apollo-11 |title=Kit, Pilot's Personal Preference, Apollo 11 |website=Smithsonian Air and Space Museum |access-date=October 11, 2018 |archive-date=October 11, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011013811/https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/kit-pilots-personal-preference-apollo-11 |url-status=live }}</ref> Five {{convert|0.5|lb|adj=on}} PPKs were carried on Apollo 11: three (one for each astronaut) were stowed on ''Columbia'' before launch, and two on ''Eagle''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://spaceflownartifacts.com/flown_ppks.html |publisher=Space flown collectible artifacts |title=Personal Preference Kits (PPKs) |access-date=December 24, 2018 |archive-date=February 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224115639/http://spaceflownartifacts.com/flown_ppks.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Neil Armstrong's LM PPK contained a piece of wood from the [[Biography:Wright brothers|Wright brothers]]' 1903 ''[[Engineering:Wright Flyer|Wright Flyer]]''{{'}}s left propeller and a piece of fabric from its wing,{{sfn|Hansen |2005|p=527}} along with a diamond-studded astronaut pin originally given to Slayton by the widows of the Apollo&nbsp;1 crew. 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. Armstrong took it with him on Apollo 11.{{sfn|Slayton|Cassutt|1994|pp=191–192}}

=== Site selection ===

{{Location mark+
| image = Lunar_site_selection_globe.jpg
| caption = Map of Moon showing prospective sites for Apollo 11. Site 2 was chosen.
| width = 220
| type = thumb
| float = right
| marks =
{{Location mark~
  | mark = 1_white,_blue_rounded_rectangle.svg
  | mark_link = Mare Tranquillitatis
  | width = 220
  | x = 760 | y = 365 }} <!-- x y positions relative to the image at 1000px width -->
{{Location mark~
  | mark = 2_white,_blue_rounded_rectangle.svg
  | mark_link = Mare Tranquillitatis
  | width = 220
  | x = 685 | y = 384 }}
{{Location mark~
  | mark = 3_white,_blue_rounded_rectangle.svg
  | mark_link = Sinus Medii
  | width = 220
  | x = 498 | y = 385 }}
{{Location mark~
  | mark = 4_white,_blue_rounded_rectangle.svg
  | mark_link = Oceanus Procellarum
  | width = 220
  | x = 235 | y = 421 }}
{{Location mark~
  | mark = 5_white,_blue_rounded_rectangle.svg
  | mark_link = Oceanus Procellarum
  | width = 220
  | x = 196 | y = 388 }}
}}
NASA's Apollo Site Selection Board announced five potential landing sites on February 8, 1968. These were the result of two years' worth of studies based on high-resolution photography of the lunar surface by the five uncrewed probes of the [[Astronomy:Lunar Orbiter program|Lunar Orbiter program]] and information about surface conditions provided by the [[Astronomy:Surveyor program|Surveyor program]].<ref name="Site Selection">{{cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/feature/50-years-ago-lunar-landing-sites-selected |title=50 Years Ago: Lunar Landing Sites Selected |newspaper=NASA |access-date=September 22, 2018 |date=February 8, 2018 |last1=Garcia |first1=Mark |archive-date=September 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927033702/https://www.nasa.gov/feature/50-years-ago-lunar-landing-sites-selected/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The best Earth-bound telescopes could not resolve features with the resolution Project Apollo required.{{sfn|Cortright|1975|p=79}} The landing site had to be close to the lunar equator to minimize the amount of propellant required, clear of obstacles to minimize maneuvering, and flat to simplify the task of the landing radar. Scientific value was not a consideration.{{sfn|Harland|1999|p=19}}

Areas that appeared promising on photographs taken on Earth were often found to be totally unacceptable. The original requirement that the site be free of craters had to be relaxed, as no such site was found.{{sfn|Cortright|1975|pp=98–99}} Five sites were considered: Sites&nbsp;1 and&nbsp;2 were in the Sea of Tranquility (''[[Astronomy:Mare Tranquillitatis|Mare Tranquillitatis]]''); Site&nbsp;3 was in the Central Bay (''[[Astronomy:Sinus Medii|Sinus Medii]]''); and Sites&nbsp;4 and&nbsp;5 were in the Ocean of Storms (''[[Astronomy:Oceanus Procellarum|Oceanus Procellarum]]'').<ref name="Site Selection" />
The final site selection was based on seven criteria:
* 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&nbsp;and 20 degrees behind the LM; and
* a general slope of less than two degrees in the landing area.<ref name="Site Selection" />

The requirement for the Sun angle was particularly restrictive, limiting the launch date to one day per month.<ref name="Site Selection" /> A landing just after dawn was chosen to limit the temperature extremes the astronauts would experience.{{sfn|Collins|1994|p=7}} The Apollo Site Selection Board selected Site&nbsp;2, with Sites 3&nbsp;and&nbsp;5 as backups in the event of the launch being delayed. In May 1969, Apollo 10's lunar module flew to within {{convert|15|km|sp=us}} of Site&nbsp;2, and reported it was acceptable.{{sfn|Cappellari|1972|p=976}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/apollo/apollo-program/orbital-missions/apollo10-facts.cfm|title=Apollo 10|website=Smithsonian Air and Space Museum|access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-date=February 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206101450/https://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/apollo/apollo-program/orbital-missions/apollo10-facts.cfm|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== First-step decision ===
During the first press conference after the Apollo 11 crew was announced, the first question was, "Which one of you gentlemen will be the first man to step onto the lunar surface?"{{sfn|Chaikin|1994|p=148}}{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=360}} Slayton told the reporter it had not been decided, and Armstrong added that it was "not based on individual desire".{{sfn|Chaikin|1994|p=148}}

One of the first versions of the egress checklist had the lunar module pilot exit the spacecraft before the commander, which matched what had been done on Gemini missions,{{sfn|Collins|2001|p=347}} where the commander had never performed the spacewalk.{{sfn|Aldrin|Abraham|2016|pp=57–58}} Reporters wrote in early 1969 that Aldrin would be the first man to walk on the Moon, and Associate Administrator George Mueller told reporters he would be first as well. Aldrin heard that Armstrong would be the first because Armstrong was a civilian, which made Aldrin livid. Aldrin attempted to persuade other lunar module pilots he should be first, but they responded cynically about what they perceived as a lobbying campaign. Attempting to stem interdepartmental conflict, Slayton told Aldrin that Armstrong would be first since he was the commander. The decision was announced in a press conference on April 14, 1969.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=363–365}}

For decades, Aldrin believed the final decision was largely driven by the lunar module's hatch location. Because the astronauts had their spacesuits on and the spacecraft was so small, maneuvering to exit the spacecraft was difficult. The crew tried a simulation in which Aldrin left the spacecraft first, but he damaged the simulator while attempting to egress. 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.{{sfn|Chaikin|1994|p=149}} Slayton told Armstrong the plan was to have him leave the spacecraft first, if he agreed. Armstrong said, "Yes, that's the way to do it."{{sfn|Chaikin|1994|p=150}}

The media accused Armstrong of exercising his commander's prerogative to exit the spacecraft first.{{sfn|Schefter|1999|p=281}} Chris Kraft revealed in his 2001 autobiography that a meeting occurred between Gilruth, Slayton, Low, and himself to make sure Aldrin would not be the first to walk on the Moon. They argued that the first person to walk on the Moon should be like Charles Lindbergh, a calm and quiet person. They made the decision to change the flight plan so the commander was the first to egress from the spacecraft.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=371–372}}

=== Pre-launch ===

[[File:69-HC-620 - SA506.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|left|Saturn V SA-506, the rocket carrying the Apollo 11 spacecraft, moves out of the Vehicle Assembly Building towards Launch Complex 39.]]

The ascent stage of [[Engineering:Lunar Module Eagle|LM-5 ''Eagle'']] arrived at the Kennedy Space Center on January 8, 1969, followed by the descent stage four days later, and [[Engineering:Command module Columbia|CSM-107 ''Columbia'']] on January 23.<ref name="Mission Overview">{{cite web |title=Apollo 11 Mission Overview |publisher=NASA |url=https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo11.html |first=Sarah |last=Loff |access-date=September 22, 2018 |date=April 17, 2015 |archive-date=February 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209204039/https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo11.html |url-status=live }}</ref> There were several differences between ''Eagle'' and Apollo 10's LM-4 ''Snoopy''; ''Eagle'' had a VHF radio antenna to facilitate communication with the astronauts during their EVA on the lunar surface; a lighter ascent engine; more thermal protection on the landing gear; and a package of scientific experiments known as the Early Apollo Scientific Experiments Package (EASEP). The only change in the configuration of the command module was the removal of some insulation from the forward hatch.{{sfn|Benson|Faherty|1978|p=472}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/apollo-to-the-moon/online/science/scientific-experiments.cfm |title=Scientific Experiments |website=Smithsonian Air and Space Museum |access-date=September 22, 2018 |archive-date=October 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024085033/https://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/apollo-to-the-moon/online/science/scientific-experiments.cfm |url-status=live }}</ref> The CSM was mated on January 29, and moved from the Operations and Checkout Building to the [[Astronomy:Vehicle Assembly Building|Vehicle Assembly Building]] on April 14.<ref name="Mission Overview" />

The [[Astronomy:S-IVB|S-IVB]] third stage of Saturn V AS-506 had arrived on January 18, followed by the [[Astronomy:S-II|S-II]] second stage on February 6, [[Astronomy:S-IC|S-IC]] first stage on February 20, and the [[Astronomy:Saturn V Instrument Unit|Saturn V Instrument Unit]] on February 27. At 12:30 on May 20, the {{convert|5443|t|adj=on}} assembly departed the Vehicle Assembly Building atop the [[Engineering:Crawler-transporter|crawler-transporter]], bound for Launch Pad 39A, part of Launch Complex 39, while Apollo 10 was still on its way to the Moon. A countdown test commenced on June 26, and concluded on July 2. The launch complex was floodlit on the night of July 15, when the crawler-transporter carried the [[Engineering:Service structure|mobile service structure]] back to its parking area.<ref name="Mission Overview" /> In the early hours of the morning, the fuel tanks of the S-II and S-IVB stages were filled with [[Chemistry:Liquid hydrogen|liquid hydrogen]].{{sfn|Benson|Faherty|1978|p=474}} Fueling was completed by three hours before launch.{{sfn|Benson|Faherty|1978|p=475}} Launch operations were partly automated, with 43 programs written in the [[Engineering:ATOLL (programming language)|ATOLL programming language]].{{sfn|Benson|Faherty|1978|pp=355–356}}

Slayton roused the crew shortly after 04:00, and they showered, shaved, and had the traditional pre-flight breakfast of steak and eggs with Slayton and the backup crew. They then donned their space suits and began breathing pure oxygen. At 06:30, they headed out to Launch Complex 39.{{sfn|Collins|2001|pp=355–357}} Haise entered ''Columbia'' about three hours and ten minutes before launch time. Along with a technician, he helped Armstrong into the left-hand couch at 06:54. Five minutes later, Collins joined him, taking up his position on the right-hand couch. Finally, Aldrin entered, taking the center couch.{{sfn|Benson|Faherty|1978|p=475}} Haise left around two hours and ten minutes before launch.<ref name="AP11FJ">{{cite web|url=https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap11fj/01launch.html|title=Day 1, Part 1: Launch|via=NASA|access-date=October 11, 2018|publisher=Apollo Flight Journal|last1=Woods|first1=W. David|last2=MacTaggart|first2=Kenneth D.|last3=O'Brien|first3=Frank|date=June 6, 2019|archive-date=December 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205085922/https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap11fj/01launch.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The closeout crew sealed the hatch, and the cabin was purged and pressurized. The closeout crew then left the launch complex about an hour before launch time. The countdown became automated at three minutes and twenty seconds before launch time.{{sfn|Benson|Faherty|1978|p=475}} Over 450 personnel were at the consoles in the firing room.{{sfn|Benson|Faherty|1978|p=474}}

== Mission ==
=== Launch and flight to lunar orbit ===

[[File:Apollo 11 Launch - GPN-2000-000630.jpg|alt=|thumb|The Apollo 11 Saturn V space vehicle lifts off with astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. at 9:32 a.m. EDT July 16, 1969, from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A.]]

An estimated one million spectators watched the launch of Apollo 11 from the highways and beaches in the vicinity of the launch site. Dignitaries included the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, General William Westmoreland, four cabinet members, 19 state governors, 40 mayors, 60 ambassadors and 200 congressmen. Vice President Spiro Agnew viewed the launch with former president [[Biography:Lyndon B. Johnson|Lyndon B. Johnson]] and his wife Lady Bird Johnson.{{sfn|Benson|Faherty|1978|p=474}}{{sfn|Bilstein|1980|pp=369–370}} Around 3,500 media representatives were present.{{sfn|Brooks|Grimwood|Swenson|1979|p=338}} About two-thirds were from the United States; the rest came from 55 other countries. The launch was televised live in 33 countries, with an estimated 25&nbsp;million viewers in the United States alone. Millions more around the world listened to radio broadcasts.{{sfn|Bilstein|1980|pp=369–370}}{{sfn|Benson|Faherty|1978|p=474}} President Richard Nixon viewed the launch from his office in the White House with his NASA liaison officer, Apollo astronaut Frank Borman.<ref>{{cite web |title=President Richard Nixon's Daily Diary |url=https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/virtuallibrary/documents/PDD/1969/013%20July%2016-31%201969.pdf |publisher=Richard Nixon Presidential Library |access-date=September 3, 2018 |page=2 |date=July 16, 1969 |archive-date=January 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104030153/https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/virtuallibrary/documents/PDD/1969/013%20July%2016-31%201969.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Saturn V AS-506 launched Apollo 11 on July 16, 1969, at 13:32:00 [[UTC]] (9:32:00 EDT).<ref name="Mission Overview" /> At 13.2 seconds into the flight, the launch vehicle began to [[Physics:Roll program|roll]] into its flight azimuth of 72.058°. Full shutdown of the first-stage engines occurred about 2&nbsp;minutes and 42 seconds into the mission, followed by separation of the S-IC and ignition of the S-II engines. The second stage engines then cut off and separated at about 9&nbsp;minutes and 8&nbsp;seconds, allowing the first ignition of the S-IVB engine a few seconds later.{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=106}}

Apollo 11 entered a [[Astronomy:Elliptic orbit|near-circular Earth orbit]] at an altitude of {{convert|100.4|nmi|km}} by {{convert|98.9|nmi|km}}, twelve minutes into its flight. After one and a half orbits, a second ignition of the S-IVB engine pushed the spacecraft onto its trajectory toward the Moon with the [[Astronomy:Trans-lunar injection|trans-lunar injection]] (TLI) burn at 16:22:13 UTC. About 30 minutes later, with Collins in the left seat and at the controls, the [[Astronomy:Transposition, docking, and extraction|transposition, docking, and extraction]] maneuver was performed. This involved separating ''Columbia'' from the spent S-IVB stage, turning around, and docking with ''Eagle'' still attached to the stage. After the LM was extracted, the combined spacecraft headed for the Moon, while the rocket stage flew on a trajectory past the Moon.{{sfn|Collins|2001|pp=374–375}}{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=106}} This was done to avoid the third stage colliding with the spacecraft, the Earth, or the Moon. A [[Astronomy:Gravity assist|slingshot effect]] from passing around the Moon threw it into an [[Astronomy:Heliocentric orbit|orbit around the Sun]].{{sfn|Marshall Space Flight Center|1969|p=7}}

On July 19 at 17:21:50 UTC, Apollo 11 passed behind the Moon and fired its service propulsion engine to enter [[Astronomy:Lunar orbit|lunar orbit]].{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=106}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap11fj/11day4-loi1.html|title=Day 4, part 1: Entering Lunar Orbit|publisher=Apollo Flight Journal|date=February 10, 2017|access-date=July 14, 2019|last1=Woods|first1=W. David|last2=MacTaggart|first2=Kenneth D.|last3=O'Brien|first3=Frank|via=NASA|archive-date=February 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227062352/https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap11fj/11day4-loi1.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In the thirty orbits that followed, the crew saw passing views of their landing site in the southern Sea of Tranquility about {{convert|12|mi|km}} southwest of the crater [[Astronomy:Collins (crater)|Sabine D]]. The site was selected in part because it had been characterized as relatively flat and smooth by the automated [[Astronomy:Ranger 8|Ranger 8]] and [[Astronomy:Surveyor 5|Surveyor 5]] landers and the Lunar Orbiter mapping spacecraft, and because it was unlikely to present major landing or EVA challenges.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/A11_PressKit.pdf |title=Apollo 11 Lunar Landing Mission |date=July 6, 1969 |publisher=NASA |location=Washington, D.C. |type=Press kit |id=Release No: 69-83K |access-date=June 13, 2013 |archive-date=August 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130811082927/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/A11_PressKit.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> It lay about {{convert|25|km|sp=us}} southeast of the Surveyor&nbsp;5 landing site, and {{convert|68|km|sp=us}} southwest of Ranger&nbsp;8's crash site.{{sfn|Mission Evaluation Team|1969|p=130}}

=== Lunar descent ===

[[File:Apollo 11 CSM photographed from Lunar Module (AS11-37-5445).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|left|''Columbia'' in lunar orbit, photographed from ''Eagle''|alt=The top of the silvery command module is seen over a grey, cratered lunar surface]]

At 12:52:00 UTC on July 20, Aldrin and Armstrong entered [[Engineering:Lunar Module Eagle|''Eagle'']], and began the final preparations for lunar descent.{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=106}} At 17:44:00 ''Eagle'' separated from ''Columbia''.{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=107}} Collins, alone aboard ''Columbia'', inspected ''Eagle'' as it pirouetted before him to ensure the craft was not damaged, and that the landing gear was correctly deployed.{{sfn|Mission Evaluation Team|1969|p=9}}{{sfn|Collins|Aldrin|1975|p=209}} Armstrong exclaimed: "The ''Eagle'' has wings!"{{sfn|Collins|Aldrin|1975|p=209}}

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. ''Eagle'' was traveling too fast. The problem could have been [[Astronomy:Mass concentration|mascons]]—concen{{shy}}tra{{shy}}tions of high mass in a region or regions of the Moon's crust that contains a [[Physics:Gravity anomaly|gravitational anomaly]], potentially altering ''Eagle''{{'s}} trajectory. Flight Director Gene Kranz speculated that it could have resulted from extra air pressure in the docking tunnel, or a result of ''Eagle''{{'}}s pirouette maneuver.{{sfn|Mindell|2008|pp=220–221}}{{sfn|Mission Evaluation Team|1969|p=82}}

Five minutes into the descent burn, and {{convert|6000|ft|m|-2}} above the surface of the Moon, the [[Engineering:Apollo Guidance Computer|LM guidance computer]] (LGC) distracted the crew with the first of several unexpected 1201 and 1202 program alarms. Inside Mission Control Center, computer engineer Jack Garman told [[Engineering:Flight controller#GUIDO|Guidance Officer]] [[Biography:Steve Bales|Steve Bales]] it was safe to continue the descent, and this was relayed to the crew. The program alarms indicated "executive overflows", meaning the guidance computer could not complete all its tasks in real-time and had to postpone some of them.{{sfn|Collins|Aldrin|1975|pp=210–212}}{{sfn|Hamilton|Hackler|2008|pp=34–43}} [[Biography:Margaret Hamilton (software engineer)|Margaret Hamilton]], the Director of Apollo Flight Computer Programming at the MIT [[Organization:Charles Stark Draper Laboratory|Charles Stark Draper Laboratory]] later recalled:
[[File:Apollo 11 Lunar Module Eagle in landing configuration in lunar orbit from the Command and Service Module Columbia.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|right|''Eagle'' in lunar orbit photographed from ''Columbia'']]

{{blockquote|To blame the computer for the Apollo 11 problems is like blaming the person who spots a fire and calls the fire department. Actually, the computer was programmed to do more than recognize error conditions. A complete set of recovery programs was incorporated into the software. The software's action, in this case, was to eliminate lower priority tasks and re-establish the more important ones. The computer, rather than almost forcing an abort, prevented an abort. 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.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Hamilton |first=Margaret H. |date=March 1, 1971 |page=13 |title=Computer Got Loaded |journal=Datamation |type=Letter |issn=0011-6963}}</ref>}}

During the mission, the cause was diagnosed as the rendezvous radar switch being in the wrong position, causing the computer to process data from both the rendezvous and landing radars at the same time.{{sfn|Mission Evaluation Team|1969|pp=190–192}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.1201-fm.html |title=Apollo 11: 25 Years Later |last=Martin |first=Fred H. |date=July 1994 |work=Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal |publisher=NASA |access-date=June 13, 2013 |archive-date=May 27, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527012357/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.1201-fm.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Software engineer [[Biography:Don Eyles|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 [[Engineering:Apollo 5|Apollo 5]]. Having the rendezvous radar on (so it was warmed up in case of an emergency landing abort) should have been irrelevant to the computer, but an electrical phasing mismatch between two parts of the rendezvous radar system could cause the stationary antenna to appear to the computer as dithering back and forth between two positions, depending upon how the hardware randomly powered up. The extra spurious [[Cycle stealing|cycle stealing]], as the rendezvous radar updated an involuntary counter, caused the computer alarms.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://klabs.org/history/apollo_11_alarms/eyles_2004/eyles_2004.htm |title=Tales from the Lunar Module Guidance Computer |last=Eyles |first=Don |date=February 6, 2004 |work=27th annual Guidance and Control Conference |publisher=American Astronautical Society |location=Breckenridge, Colorado |access-date=June 13, 2013 |archive-date=February 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224051423/http://klabs.org/history/apollo_11_alarms/eyles_2004/eyles_2004.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Landing ===
[[File:AP11 FINAL APPROACH.ogv|thumb|Armstrong pilots ''Eagle'' to its landing on the Moon, July 20, 1969.]]
When Armstrong again looked outside, he saw that the computer's landing target was in a boulder-strewn area just north and east of a {{convert|300|ft|m|adj=mid|sp=us|-diameter}} crater (later determined to be [[Astronomy:West (lunar crater)|West crater]]), so he took semi-automatic control.{{sfn|Chaikin|1994|p=196}}{{sfn|Mindell|2008|pp=195–197}} Armstrong considered landing short of the boulder field so they could collect geological samples from it, but could not since their horizontal velocity was too high. Throughout the descent, Aldrin called out navigation data to Armstrong, who was busy piloting ''Eagle''. Now {{convert|107|ft|m|sp=us}} above the surface, Armstrong knew their propellant supply was dwindling and was determined to land at the first possible landing site.{{sfn|Chaikin|1994|p=197}}

Armstrong found a clear patch of ground and maneuvered the spacecraft towards it. As he got closer, now {{convert|250|ft|m|sp=us}} above the surface, he discovered his new landing site had a crater in it. He cleared the crater and found another patch of level ground. They were now {{convert|100|ft|m|sp=us}} from the surface, with only 90 seconds of propellant remaining. Lunar dust kicked up by the LM's engine began to impair his ability to determine the spacecraft's motion. Some large rocks jutted out of the dust cloud, and Armstrong focused on them during his descent so he could determine the spacecraft's speed.{{sfn|Chaikin|1994|pp=198–199}}

A light informed Aldrin that at least one of the {{convert|67|in|cm|0|adj=on}} probes hanging from ''Eagle''{{'s}} footpads had touched the surface a few moments before the landing and he said: "Contact light!" 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. Three seconds later, ''Eagle'' landed and Armstrong shut the engine down.{{sfn|Chaikin|1994|p=199}} Aldrin immediately said "Okay, engine stop. ACA—out of [[Engineering:Detent|detent]]." Armstrong acknowledged: "Out of detent. Auto." Aldrin continued: "Mode control—both auto. Descent engine command override off. Engine arm—off. 413 is in."{{sfn|Mindell|2008|p=226}}
[[File:Apollo 11 Landing Site & West Crater.png|thumb|left|Landing site relative to West crater]]
ACA was the [[Astronomy:Spacecraft attitude control|Attitude Control Assembly]]—the LM's control stick. Output went to the LGC to command the [[Engineering:Reaction control system|reaction control system]] (RCS) jets to fire. "Out of Detent" meant the stick had moved away from its centered position; it was spring-centered like the turn indicator in a car. Address 413 of the [[Engineering:Apollo Abort Guidance System|Abort Guidance System]] (AGS) contained the variable that indicated the LM had landed.<ref name="ALSJ 1" />

''Eagle'' landed at 20:17:40 UTC on Sunday July 20 with {{convert|216|lb}} of usable fuel remaining. Information available to the crew and mission controllers during the landing showed the LM had enough fuel for another 25 seconds of powered flight before an abort without touchdown would have become unsafe,<ref name="ALSJ 1" />{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=295}} but post-mission analysis showed that the real figure was probably closer to 50 seconds.<ref name="Horizons2013">{{cite journal |last1=Fjeld |first1=Paul |title=The Biggest Myth about the First Moon Landing |journal=Horizons |date=June 2013 |volume=38 |issue=6 |pages=5–6 |url=http://www.aiaahouston.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Horizons_2013_05_and_06_low_resolution.pdf#page=5 |access-date=March 29, 2019 |archive-date=February 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224130506/http://www.aiaahouston.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Horizons_2013_05_and_06_low_resolution.pdf#page=5 |url-status=live }}</ref> Apollo 11 landed with less fuel than most subsequent missions, and the astronauts encountered a premature low fuel warning. This was later found to be the result of the propellant [[Physics:Slosh dynamics|sloshing]] more than expected, uncovering a fuel sensor. On subsequent missions, extra anti-slosh baffles were added to the tanks to prevent this.<ref name="ALSJ 1" />

Armstrong acknowledged Aldrin's completion of the post-landing checklist with "Engine arm is off", before responding to the CAPCOM, Charles Duke, with the words, "Houston, [[Astronomy:Tranquility Base|Tranquility Base]] here. The ''[[Engineering:Lunar Module Eagle|Eagle]]'' has landed." Armstrong's unrehearsed change of call sign from "Eagle" to "Tranquility Base" emphasized to listeners that landing was complete and successful.<ref>{{cite AV media |type=TV production |title=Failure is Not an Option |publisher=The History Channel |date=August 24, 2003 |oclc=54435670}}</ref> Duke expressed the relief at Mission Control: "Roger, Twan—Tranquility, we copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We're breathing again. Thanks a lot."<ref name="ALSJ 1">{{cite web |url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.landing.html |title=The First Lunar Landing |date=1995 |editor-last=Jones |editor-first=Eric M. |work=Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal |publisher=NASA |access-date=June 13, 2013 |archive-date=December 27, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227230604/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.landing.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/james-may-speaks-to-charles-duke/zfnghbk |title=James May speaks to Charles Duke |date=2009 |publisher=BBC Archives |access-date=June 7, 2009 |archive-date=August 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200817203306/https://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/james-may-speaks-to-charles-duke/zfnghbk |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:A New Look at the Apollo 11 Landing Site.ogg|thumb|[[Stereoscopy|3-D]] view from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) of Apollo 11 landing site]]

Two and a half hours after landing, before preparations began for the EVA, Aldrin radioed to Earth:
{{blockquote|This is the LM pilot. I'd like to take this opportunity to ask every person listening in, whoever and wherever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours and to give thanks in his or her own way.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.postland.html |title=Post-landing Activities |date=1995 |editor-last=Jones |editor-first=Eric M. |work=Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal |publisher=NASA |access-date=June 13, 2013 |archive-date=May 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510224246/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.postland.html |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
He then took [[Religion:Eucharist|communion]] privately. At this time NASA was still fighting a lawsuit brought by atheist [[Biography:Madalyn Murray O'Hair|Madalyn Murray O'Hair]] (who had objected to the [[Unsolved:Apollo 8 Genesis reading|Apollo&nbsp;8 crew reading from the Book of Genesis]]) demanding that their astronauts refrain from broadcasting religious activities while in space. For this reason, Aldrin chose to refrain from directly mentioning taking communion on the Moon. Aldrin was an elder at the Webster [[Religion:Presbyterianism|Presbyterian Church]], and his communion kit was prepared by the pastor of the church, Dean Woodruff. Webster Presbyterian possesses the chalice used on the Moon and commemorates the event each year on the Sunday closest to July 20.{{sfn|Chaikin|1994|pp=204, 623}} The schedule for the mission called for the astronauts to follow the landing with a five-hour sleep period, but they chose to begin preparations for the EVA early, thinking they would be unable to sleep.{{sfn|Mission Evaluation Team|1969|pp=21–22}}

=== Lunar surface operations ===
Preparations for Neil Armstrong and [[Biography:Buzz Aldrin|Buzz Aldrin]] to walk on the Moon began at 23:43 UTC.{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=107}} These took longer than expected; three and a half hours instead of two.<ref name="ALSJ 3" /> 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.{{sfn|Mission Evaluation Team|1969|p=22}} Six hours and thirty-nine minutes after landing, Armstrong and Aldrin were ready to go outside, and ''Eagle'' was depressurized.{{sfn|Cortright|1975|p=215}}

''Eagle''{{'}}s hatch was opened at 02:39:33.{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=107}} Armstrong initially had some difficulties squeezing through the hatch with his [[Astronomy:Primary life support system|portable life support system]] (PLSS).<ref name="ALSJ 3">{{cite web |url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.summary.html |title=First Steps |date=1995 |editor1-last=Jones |editor1-first=Eric M. |editor2-last=Glover |editor2-first=Ken |work=Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal |publisher=NASA |access-date=September 23, 2006 |archive-date=October 9, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061009173831/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.summary.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Some of the highest heart rates recorded from Apollo astronauts occurred during LM egress and ingress.{{sfn|Johnston|Dietlein|Berry|1975|pp=115–120}} At 02:51 Armstrong began his descent to the lunar surface. The remote control unit on his chest kept him from seeing his feet. 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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Neil Armstrong, first man to step on the Moon, dies at 82 |first=Paul |last=Duggan |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/neil-armstrong-first-man-to-step-on-the-moon-dies-at-82/2012/08/25/7091c8bc-412d-11e0-a16f-4c3fe0fd37f0_story.html |newspaper={{wipe|The Washington Post}} |date=August 25, 2012 |access-date=May 25, 2013 |archive-date=February 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210212015720/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/neil-armstrong-first-man-to-step-on-the-moon-dies-at-82/2012/08/25/7091c8bc-412d-11e0-a16f-4c3fe0fd37f0_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="ALSJ 4">{{cite web |url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.step.html |title=One Small Step |date=1995 |editor-last=Jones |editor-first=Eric M. |work=Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal |publisher=NASA |access-date=June 13, 2013 |archive-date=August 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808082450/https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.step.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Apollo 11 used [[Physics:Slow-scan television|slow-scan television]] (TV) incompatible with broadcast TV, so it was displayed on a special monitor and a conventional TV camera viewed this monitor (thus, a broadcast of a broadcast), significantly reducing the quality of the picture.<ref name="Blunder 5">{{cite news |title=One giant blunder for mankind: how NASA lost Moon pictures |last=Macey |first=Richard |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/one-giant-blunder-for-mankind-how-nasa-lost-moon-pictures/2006/08/04/1154198328978.html |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |location=Sydney |date=August 5, 2006 |access-date=June 13, 2013 |archive-date=May 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200529192922/https://www.smh.com.au/national/one-giant-blunder-for-mankind-how-nasa-lost-moon-pictures-20060805-gdo42n.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The signal was received at [[Astronomy:Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex|Goldstone]] in the United States, but with better fidelity by Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station near [[Place:Canberra|Canberra]] in Australia. Minutes later the feed was switched to the more sensitive [[Astronomy:Parkes Observatory|Parkes radio telescope]] in Australia.{{sfn|Sarkissian|2001|p=287}} Despite some technical and weather difficulties, black and white images of the first lunar EVA were received and broadcast to at least 600&nbsp;million people on Earth.{{sfn|Sarkissian|2001|p=287}} Copies of this video in broadcast format were saved and are widely available, but [[Astronomy:Apollo 11 missing tapes|recordings of the original slow scan source transmission from the lunar surface]] were likely destroyed during routine magnetic tape re-use at NASA.<ref name="Blunder 5" />

[[File:Apollo 11 Landing - first steps on the moon.ogv|thumb|right|Video of Neil Armstrong and the first step on the Moon]]
{{Listen|pos=right|filename=Frase de Neil Armstrong.ogg|title=That's one small step ...|description=|format=[[Software:Ogg|Ogg]]}}

After describing the surface dust as "very fine-grained" and "almost like a powder",<ref name="ALSJ 4" /> at 02:56:15,<ref name="AT-20190723">{{cite news |last=Stern |first=Jacob |title=One Small Controversy About Neil Armstrong's Giant Leap—When, exactly, did the astronaut set foot on the moon? No one knows. |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/07/tiny-imprecision-heart-apollo-11/594556/ |date=July 23, 2019 |work=The Atlantic |access-date=July 23, 2019 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108002121/https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/07/tiny-imprecision-heart-apollo-11/594556/ |url-status=live }}</ref> six and a half hours after landing, Armstrong stepped off ''Eagle''{{'s}} landing pad and declared: "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."{{efn|name=transcript}}{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=108}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/F_Apollo_35th_Anniversary.html |title=Apollo Moon Landing—35th Anniversary |date=July 15, 2004 |editor-last=Canright |editor-first=Shelley |work=NASA Education |publisher=NASA |access-date=June 13, 2013 |archive-date=July 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130704144425/http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/F_Apollo_35th_Anniversary.html |url-status=live }} Includes the "a" article as intended.</ref>

Armstrong intended to say "That's one small step for a man", but the word "a" is not audible in the transmission, and thus was not initially reported by most observers of the live broadcast. When later asked about his quote, Armstrong said he believed he said "for a man", and subsequent printed versions of the quote included the "a" in square brackets. One explanation for the absence may be that his accent caused him to slur the words "for a" together; another is the intermittent nature of the audio and video links to Earth, partly because of storms near Parkes Observatory. A more recent digital analysis of the tape claims to reveal the "a" may have been spoken but obscured by static. Other analysis points to the claims of static and slurring as "face-saving fabrication", and that Armstrong himself later admitted to misspeaking the line.<ref>{{snopes | link = http://www.snopes.com/quotes/onesmall.asp | title = One Small Step}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Armstrong 'got Moon quote right' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5398560.stm |date=October 2, 2006 |work=BBC News |location=London |access-date=June 13, 2013 |archive-date=January 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127201446/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5398560.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Armstrong's 'poetic' slip on Moon |first=Pallab |last=Ghosh |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8081817.stm |date=June 3, 2009 |work=BBC News |location=London |access-date=June 13, 2013 |archive-date=February 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210223003808/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8081817.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

About seven minutes after stepping onto the Moon's surface, Armstrong collected a contingency soil sample using a sample bag on a stick. He then folded the bag and tucked it into a pocket on his right thigh. This was to guarantee there would be some lunar soil brought back in case an emergency required the astronauts to abandon the EVA and return to the LM.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/lsc/10010.pdf |title=Lunar Sample Compendium: Contingency Soil (10010) |last=Meyer |first=Charles |date=2009 |work=Astromaterials Research & Exploration Science |publisher=NASA |access-date=June 13, 2013 |archive-date=May 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510225907/http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/lsc/10010.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Twelve minutes after the sample was collected,{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=108}} he removed the TV camera from the MESA and made a panoramic sweep, then mounted it on a tripod.<ref name="ALSJ 3" /> The TV camera cable remained partly coiled and presented a tripping hazard throughout the EVA. Still photography was accomplished with a [[Company:Hasselblad|Hasselblad]] camera that could be operated hand-held or mounted on Armstrong's Apollo space suit.{{sfn|Mission Evaluation Team|1969|p=23}} Aldrin joined Armstrong on the surface. He described the view with the simple phrase: "Magnificent desolation."<ref name="ALSJ 4" />

Armstrong said moving in the [[Physics:Gravitation of the Moon|lunar gravity]], one-sixth of Earth's, was "even perhaps easier than the simulations&nbsp;... It's absolutely no trouble to walk around."<ref name="ALSJ 4" /> Aldrin joined him on the surface and tested methods for moving around, including two-footed kangaroo hops. The PLSS backpack created a tendency to tip backward, but neither astronaut had serious problems maintaining balance. Loping became the preferred method of movement. The astronauts reported that they needed to plan their movements six or seven steps ahead. The fine soil was quite slippery. 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.<ref name="ALSJ 4" /> The MESA failed to provide a stable work platform and was in shadow, slowing work somewhat. As they worked, the moonwalkers kicked up gray dust, which soiled the outer part of their suits.{{sfn|Mission Evaluation Team|1969|p=23}}
[[File:Buzz salutes the U.S. Flag.jpg|thumb|left|Aldrin salutes the deployed United States flag on the lunar surface.]]

The astronauts planted the [[Engineering:Lunar Flag Assembly|Lunar Flag Assembly]] containing a flag of the United States on the lunar surface, in clear view of the TV camera. 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."<ref name="theattic">{{cite web |title=A Flag on the Moon |url=https://www.theattic.space/home-page-blogs/2018/9/27/4j6861bez3j568c31rzj7lynevmtpt |website=The Attic |access-date=October 1, 2018 |archive-date=July 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726090216/https://www.theattic.space/home-page-blogs/2018/9/27/4j6861bez3j568c31rzj7lynevmtpt |url-status=live }}</ref> But the astronauts struggled with the telescoping rod and could only insert the pole about {{Convert|5|cm|in|0|abbr=|order=flip}} into the hard lunar surface. Aldrin was afraid it might topple in front of TV viewers, but gave "a crisp West Point salute".<ref name="theattic" /> Before Aldrin could take a photo of Armstrong with the flag, President Richard Nixon spoke to them through a telephone-radio transmission, which Nixon called "the most historic phone call ever made from the White House."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/american_originals/apollo11.html |title=Exhibit: Apollo 11 and Nixon |date=March 1996 |work=American Originals |publisher=[[National Archives and Records Administration]] |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=April 13, 2008 |archive-date=November 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114001748/http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/american_originals/apollo11.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Nixon originally had a long speech prepared to read during the phone call, but Frank Borman, who was at the White House as a NASA liaison during Apollo 11, convinced Nixon to keep his words brief.{{sfn|Borman|Serling|1988|pp=237–238}}

{{blockquote|'''Nixon:''' Hello, Neil and Buzz. I'm talking to you by telephone from the Oval Room at the White House. And this certainly has to be the most historic telephone call ever made from the White House.<!-- "from the White House" was not clearly audible in the transmitted audio (although perhaps the "ouse" in "House" was), but was clearly spoken in a local recording of the call and appears in the source transcript --> I just can't tell you how proud we all are of what you have done. For every American, this has to be the proudest day of our lives. And for people all over the world, I am sure that<!-- "that" was not clearly audible in the transmitted audio, but was clearly spoken in a local recording of the call and appears in the source transcript --> they too join with Americans in recognizing what an immense feat this is. Because of what you have done, the heavens have become a part of man's world. 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. 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.{{pb}}
'''Armstrong:''' Thank you, Mr. President. It's a great honor and privilege for us to be here, representing not only the United States, but men of peace of all nations, and with interest and a<!-- sometimes transcribed as "the" --> curiosity, and men with a vision for the future. It's an honor for us to be able to participate here today.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/telephone-conversation-with-the-apollo-11-astronauts-the-moon |title=Richard Nixon: Telephone Conversation With the Apollo 11 Astronauts on the Moon |publisher=UC Santa Barbara |work=The American Presidency Project |access-date=October 26, 2018 |archive-date=March 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302083500/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/telephone-conversation-with-the-apollo-11-astronauts-the-moon |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Apollo 11 Astronauts Talk With Richard Nixon From the Surface of the Moon - AT&T Archives |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGKIh3koAI |publisher=AT&T Tech Channel |date=July 20, 2012 |via=YouTube |access-date=December 5, 2020 |archive-date=May 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522063525/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGKIh3koAI |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

[[File:Apollo 11 bootprint.jpg|thumb|right|Aldrin's bootprint; part of an experiment to test the properties of the lunar regolith]]

They deployed the EASEP, which included a passive seismic experiment package used to measure moonquakes and a retroreflector array used for the lunar laser ranging experiment.<ref name="EASEP Deployment and Closeout" /> Then Armstrong walked {{convert|196|ft|m}} from the LM to take photographs at the rim of [[Astronomy:Little West (lunar crater)|Little West Crater]]<!-- There is no "East Crater", see https://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11EastCraterRIP.html --> while Aldrin collected two [[Earth:Core sample|core sample]]s. He used the [[Engineering:Geologist's hammer|geologist's hammer]] to pound in the tubes—the only time the hammer was used on Apollo 11—but was unable to penetrate more than {{convert|6|in|cm}} deep. The astronauts then collected rock samples using scoops and tongs on extension handles. Many of the surface activities took longer than expected, so they had to stop documenting sample collection halfway through the allotted 34 minutes. Aldrin shoveled {{convert|6|kg}} of soil into the box of rocks in order to pack them in tightly.{{sfn|Harland|1999|pp=28–29}} Two types of rocks were found in the geological samples: [[Earth:Basalt|basalt]] and breccia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_11/samples/|title=Lunar Sample Overview|publisher=Lunar and Planetary Institute|access-date=December 28, 2018|archive-date=February 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207041628/https://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_11/samples/|url-status=live}}</ref> Three new minerals were discovered in the rock samples collected by the astronauts: [[Chemistry:Armalcolite|armalcolite]], [[Chemistry:Tranquillityite|tranquillityite]], and [[Chemistry:Pyroxferroite|pyroxferroite]]. Armalcolite was named after Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins. All have subsequently been found on Earth.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120115223636.htm |title=Moon-walk mineral discovered in Western Australia |website=ScienceDaily |author=University of Western Australia |date=January 17, 2012 |access-date=September 24, 2018 |archive-date=November 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111215850/http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120115223636.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Apollo 11 plaque closeup on Moon.jpg|right|thumb|[[Astronomy:Lunar plaque|The plaque]] left on the ladder of ''Eagle'']]

While on the surface, Armstrong uncovered a [[Astronomy:Lunar plaque|plaque]] mounted on the LM ladder, bearing two drawings of Earth (of the Western and Eastern Hemispheres), an inscription, and signatures of the astronauts and President Nixon. The inscription read:

{{blockquote|Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon July 1969, A. <!-- actual plaque clearly includes a space here -->D. We came in peace for all mankind.<ref name="ALSJ 4" />}}

At the behest of the Nixon administration to add a reference to God, NASA included the vague date as a reason to include A.D., which stands for [[Religion:Anno Domini|Anno Domini]] ("in the year of our Lord").{{sfn|Gardner|2017|p=143}}

Mission Control used a coded phrase to warn Armstrong his metabolic rates were high, and that he should slow down. He was moving rapidly from task to task as time ran out. As metabolic rates remained generally lower than expected for both astronauts throughout the walk, Mission Control granted the astronauts a 15-minute extension.<ref name="EASEP Deployment and Closeout">{{cite web |url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.clsout.html |title=EASEP Deployment and Closeout |editor-last=Jones |editor-first=Eric M. |date=1995 |work=Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal |publisher=NASA |access-date=June 13, 2013 |archive-date=February 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225025455/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.clsout.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In a 2010 interview, Armstrong explained that NASA limited the first moonwalk's time and distance because there was no empirical proof of how much cooling water the astronauts' PLSS backpacks would consume to handle their body heat generation while working on the Moon.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.space.com/10469-neil-armstrong-explains-famous-apollo-11-moonwalk.html |title=Neil Armstrong Explains His Famous Apollo 11 Moonwalk |date=December 10, 2010 |work=Space.com |publisher=TechMediaNetwork, Inc. |location=New York |access-date=May 25, 2013 |archive-date=August 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130802234446/http://www.space.com/10469-neil-armstrong-explains-famous-apollo-11-moonwalk.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Lunar ascent ===

Aldrin entered ''Eagle'' first. With some difficulty the astronauts lifted film and two sample boxes containing {{convert|21.55|kg|lb}} of lunar surface material to the LM hatch using a flat cable pulley device called the Lunar Equipment Conveyor (LEC). This proved to be an inefficient tool, and later missions preferred to carry equipment and samples up to the LM by hand.<ref name="ALSJ 3" /> 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. After transferring to LM life support, the explorers lightened the ascent stage for the return to lunar orbit by tossing out their PLSS backpacks, lunar overshoes, an empty Hasselblad camera, and other equipment. The hatch was closed again at 05:11:13. They then pressurized the LM and settled down to sleep.<ref name="ALSJ 6">{{cite web |url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.posteva.html |title=Trying to Rest |editor-last=Jones |editor-first=Eric M. |date=1995 |work=Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal |publisher=NASA |access-date=June 13, 2013 |archive-date=May 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510204402/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.posteva.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Aldrin Looks Back at Tranquility Base - GPN-2000-001102.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|left|Aldrin next to the Passive Seismic Experiment Package with the [[Engineering:Apollo Lunar Module|Lunar Module]] ''Eagle'' in the background]]

Presidential speech writer [[Biography:William Safire|William Safire]] had prepared an ''In Event of Moon Disaster'' announcement for Nixon to read in the event the Apollo 11 astronauts were stranded on the Moon.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/white-house-lost-space-scenarios |title=White House 'Lost In Space' Scenarios |date=August 8, 2005 |work=The Smoking Gun |location=New York |access-date=May 25, 2013 |archive-date=February 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225012257/http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/white-house-lost-space-scenarios |url-status=live }} Scanned copy of the "In Event of Moon Disaster" memo.</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Story of a Tragedy That Was Not to Be |first=Jim |last=Mann |url=http://articles.latimes.com/1999/jul/07/news/mn-53678 |work={{wipe|Los Angeles Times}} |date=July 7, 1999 |access-date=May 25, 2013 |archive-date=August 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130830075156/http://articles.latimes.com/1999/jul/07/news/mn-53678 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="safire">{{cite news |title=Essay; Disaster Never Came |first=William |last=Safire |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/12/opinion/essay-disaster-never-came.html |work={{wipe|The New York Times}} |date=July 12, 1999 |access-date=May 25, 2013 |archive-date=February 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224061550/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/12/opinion/essay-disaster-never-came.html |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the plan, Mission Control would "close down communications" with the LM, and a clergyman would "commend their souls to the deepest of the deep" in a public ritual likened to burial at sea. The last line of the prepared text contained an allusion to Rupert Brooke's World War I poem "The Soldier".<ref name="safire" />

While moving inside the cabin, Aldrin accidentally damaged the [[Engineering:Circuit breaker|circuit breaker]] that would arm the main engine for liftoff from the Moon. There was a concern this would prevent firing the engine, stranding them on the Moon. The nonconductive tip of a Duro [[Engineering:Marker pen|felt-tip pen]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Thomas |first1=Ashley |title=How a Felt-Tipped Marker Saved the Moon Landing |date=July 23, 2019 |url=https://www.asicentral.com/news/web-exclusive/july-2019/how-a-felt-tipped-marker-saved-the-moon-landing/ |access-date=20 July 2022}}</ref> was sufficient to activate the switch.<ref name="ALSJ 6" />

After more than {{frac|21|1|2}} hours on the lunar surface, in addition to the scientific instruments, the astronauts left behind: an [[Engineering:Apollo 1|Apollo 1]] mission patch in memory of astronauts&nbsp;Roger Chaffee, Gus Grissom, and [[Astronomy:Ed White (astronaut)|Edward White]], who died when their command module caught fire during a test in January 1967; two memorial medals of Soviet cosmonauts [[Biography:Vladimir Komarov|Vladimir Komarov]] and [[Biography:Yuri Gagarin|Yuri Gagarin]], who died in 1967 and 1968 respectively; a memorial bag containing a gold replica of an olive branch as a traditional symbol of peace; and a silicon message disk carrying the [[Astronomy:Apollo 11 goodwill messages|goodwill statements]] by Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon along with messages from leaders of 73 countries around the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-111507a.html|title=The untold story: how one small silicon disc delivered a giant message to the Moon|website=collectSPACE|access-date=November 20, 2019|date=November 15, 2007|archive-date=February 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224210851/http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-111507a.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Apollo 11 Goodwill Messages |date=July 13, 1969 |publisher=NASA |location=Washington, D.C. |url=https://history.nasa.gov/ap11-35ann/goodwill/Apollo_11_material.pdf |id=Release No: 69-83F |access-date=June 14, 2013 |archive-date=September 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903191836/https://www.history.nasa.gov/ap11-35ann/goodwill/Apollo_11_material.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Apollo 11 photo map.svg|thumb|upright=1.3|right|Map showing landing site and photos taken]]

After about seven hours of rest, the crew was awakened by Houston to prepare for the return flight. Two and a half hours later, at 17:54:00 UTC, they lifted off in ''Eagle''{{'s}} ascent stage to rejoin Collins aboard ''Columbia'' in lunar orbit.{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=108}} Film taken from the LM ascent stage upon liftoff from the Moon reveals the American flag, planted some {{Convert|25|ft|m|0}} from the descent stage, whipping violently in the exhaust of the ascent stage engine. Aldrin looked up in time to witness the flag topple: "The ascent stage of the LM separated&nbsp;... I was concentrating on the computers, and Neil was studying the [[Engineering:Attitude indicator|attitude indicator]], but I looked up long enough to see the flag fall over."{{sfn|Collins|Aldrin|1975|p=219}} Subsequent Apollo missions planted their flags farther from the LM.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/space/9439047/American-flags-still-standing-on-the-Moon-say-scientists.html |date=June 30, 2012 |title=American flags still standing on the Moon, say scientists |access-date=September 24, 2018 |archive-date=February 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209133957/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/space/9439047/American-flags-still-standing-on-the-Moon-say-scientists.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== ''Columbia'' in lunar orbit ===

During his day flying solo around the Moon, Collins never felt lonely. Although it has been said "not since [[Biography:Adam|Adam]] has any human known such solitude",{{sfn|Collins|2001|p=402}} Collins felt very much a part of the mission. In his autobiography he wrote: "this venture has been structured for three men, and I consider my third to be as necessary as either of the other two".{{sfn|Collins|2001|p=402}} 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".{{sfn|Collins|2001|p=402}}

One of Collins' first tasks was to identify the lunar module on the ground. To give Collins an idea where to look, Mission Control radioed that they believed the lunar module landed about {{convert|4|mile|km}} off target. Each time he passed over the suspected lunar landing site, he tried in vain to find the module. On his first orbits on the back side of the Moon, Collins performed maintenance activities such as dumping excess water produced by the [[Physics:Fuel cell|fuel cell]]s and preparing the cabin for Armstrong and Aldrin to return.{{sfn|Collins|2001|pp=401–407}}

Just before he reached the dark side on the third orbit, Mission Control informed Collins there was a problem with the temperature of the coolant. If it became too cold, parts of ''Columbia'' might freeze. Mission Control advised him to assume manual control and implement Environmental Control System Malfunction Procedure 17. Instead, Collins flicked the switch on the system from automatic to manual and back to automatic again, and carried on with normal housekeeping chores, while keeping an eye on the temperature. When ''Columbia'' came back around to the near side of the Moon again, he was able to report that the problem had been resolved. For the next couple of orbits, he described his time on the back side of the Moon as "relaxing". After Aldrin and Armstrong completed their EVA, Collins slept so he could be rested for the rendezvous. While the flight plan called for ''Eagle'' to meet up with ''Columbia'', Collins was prepared for a contingency in which he would fly ''Columbia'' down to meet ''Eagle''.{{sfn|Collins|2001|pp=406–408, 410}}

=== Return ===

[[File:Apollo 11 lunar module.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|right|''Eagle''{{'s}} ascent stage approaching ''Columbia'']]

''Eagle'' rendezvoused with ''Columbia'' at 21:24 UTC on July 21, and the two docked at 21:35. ''Eagle''{{'}}s ascent stage was jettisoned into lunar orbit at 23:41.{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=109}} Just before the [[Engineering:Apollo 12|Apollo 12]] flight, it was noted that ''Eagle'' was still likely to be orbiting the Moon. Later NASA reports mentioned that ''Eagle''{{'s}} orbit had decayed, resulting in it impacting in an "uncertain location" on the lunar surface.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo_tables.html |title=Apollo Tables |last=Williams |first=David R. |work=[[Engineering:NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive|NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive]] |publisher=NASA |access-date=September 23, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061001125211/http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo_tables.html |archive-date=October 1, 2006}}</ref> In 2021, however, some calculations show that the lander may still be in orbit.<ref>{{cite arXiv |title=Long-term Orbit Stability of the Apollo 11 "Eagle"Lunar Module Ascent Stage|eprint=2105.10088|last1=Meador|first1=James|year=2021|class=physics.space-ph}}</ref>

On July 23, the last night before splashdown, the three astronauts made a television broadcast in which Collins commented:

{{blockquote|&nbsp;... The Saturn V rocket which put us in orbit is an incredibly complicated piece of machinery, every piece of which worked flawlessly&nbsp;... We have always had confidence that this equipment will work properly. All this is possible only through the blood, sweat, and tears of a number of people&nbsp;... 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."{{sfn|Collins|Aldrin|1975|p=222}}}}

Aldrin added:

{{blockquote|This has been far more than three men on a mission to the Moon; more, still, than the efforts of a government and industry team; more, even, than the efforts of one nation. We feel that this stands as a symbol of the insatiable curiosity of all mankind to explore the unknown&nbsp;... Personally, in reflecting on the events of the past several days, a verse from Psalms comes to mind. "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?"{{sfn|Collins|Aldrin|1975|p=222}}<ref>{{Bibleverse|Psalm|8:3–4|KJV}}</ref>}}

Armstrong concluded:

{{blockquote|The responsibility for this flight lies first with history and with the giants of science who have preceded this effort; next with the American people, who have, through their will, indicated their desire; next with four administrations and their Congresses, for implementing that will; and then, with the agency and industry teams that built our spacecraft, the Saturn, the Columbia, the Eagle, and the little EMU, the spacesuit and backpack that was our small spacecraft out on the lunar surface. We would like to give special thanks to all those Americans who built the spacecraft; who did the construction, design, the tests, and put their hearts and all their abilities into those craft. 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. Good night from Apollo 11.{{sfn|Collins|Aldrin|1975|p=222}} }}

On the return to Earth, a bearing at the Guam tracking station failed, potentially preventing communication on the last segment of the Earth return. 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. Greg was later thanked by Armstrong.<ref>{{cite news |title=The 10-year-old who helped Apollo 11, 40 years later |last=Rodriguez |first=Rachel |url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/07/20/apollo11.irpt/index.html |work=CNN |date=July 20, 2009 |access-date=January 10, 2011 |archive-date=January 26, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100126041434/http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/07/20/apollo11.irpt/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Splashdown and quarantine ===

[[File:Splashdown 3.jpg|thumb|''Columbia'' floats on the ocean as Navy divers assist in retrieving the astronauts.]]

The [[Engineering:Aircraft carrier|aircraft carrier]] {{USS|Hornet|CV-12|6}}, under the command of Captain Carl J. Seiberlich,{{sfn|Carmichael|2010|p=3}} was selected as the primary recovery ship (PRS) for Apollo 11 on June 5, replacing its sister ship, the LPH {{USS|Princeton|CV-37|6}}, which had recovered Apollo 10 on May 26. ''Hornet'' was then at her home port of Long Beach, California.{{sfn|Carmichael|2010|p=21}} On reaching Pearl Harbor on July 5, ''Hornet'' embarked the Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King helicopters of HS-4, a unit which specialized in recovery of Apollo spacecraft, specialized divers of [[Organization:Underwater Demolition Team|UDT]] Detachment Apollo, a 35-man NASA recovery team, and about 120 media representatives. To make room, most of ''Hornet''{{'}}s air wing was left behind in Long Beach. Special recovery equipment was also loaded, including a [[Engineering:Boilerplate (spaceflight)|boilerplate]] command module used for training.{{sfn|Carmichael|2010|pp=38–43, 71–72}}

On July 12, with Apollo 11 still on the launch pad, ''Hornet'' departed Pearl Harbor for the recovery area in the central Pacific,{{sfn|Carmichael|2010|p=85}} in the vicinity of {{Coord|10|36|N|172|24|E|display=inline}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/A11_PressKit.pdf |title=Press Kit—Apollo 11 Lunar Landing Mission |publisher=NASA |page=57 |date=July 6, 1969 |access-date=October 11, 2018 |archive-date=January 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111155929/https://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/A11_PressKit.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> A presidential party consisting of Nixon, Borman, Secretary of State William P. Rogers and National Security Advisor [[Biography:Henry Kissinger|Henry Kissinger]] flew to Johnston Atoll on {{wipe|Air Force One}}, then to the [[Engineering:Command ship|command ship]] ''USS Arlington'' in Marine One. After a night on board, they would fly to ''Hornet'' in Marine One for a few hours of ceremonies. 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 [[Place:Pago Pago|Pago Pago]] in one of ''Hornet''{{'}}s carrier onboard delivery aircraft.{{sfn|Carmichael|2010|pp=107–108, 145–146}}

Weather satellites were not yet common, but US Air Force Captain Hank Brandli had access to top-secret [[Engineering:CORONA (satellite)|spy satellite]] images. He realized that a storm front was headed for the Apollo recovery area. Poor visibility which could make locating the capsule difficult, and strong upper-level winds which "would have ripped their parachutes to shreds" according to Brandli, posed a serious threat to the safety of the mission.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2013/October%202013/1013weather.aspx|title=Weather or Not|website=Air Force Magazine|access-date=July 22, 2019|date=October 2013|last1=Richelson|first1=Jeffrey T.|archive-date=July 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722142220/http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2013/October%25202013/1013weather.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> Brandli alerted Navy Captain Willard S. Houston Jr., the commander of the [[Earth:Joint Typhoon Warning Center|Fleet Weather Center]] at Pearl Harbor, who had the required security clearance. On their recommendation, Rear Admiral [[Biography:Donald C. Davis|Donald C. Davis]], commander of Manned Spaceflight Recovery Forces, Pacific, advised NASA to change the recovery area, each man risking his career. A new location was selected {{convert|215|nmi|km}} northeast.<ref name="ALSJ Re-entry" />{{sfn|Carmichael|2010|pp=136–137, 144–145}}

This altered the flight plan. A different sequence of computer programs was used, one never before attempted. In a conventional entry, trajectory event P64 was followed by P67. For a skip-out re-entry, P65 and P66 were employed to handle the exit and entry parts of the skip. In this case, because they were extending the re-entry but not actually skipping out, P66 was not invoked and instead, P65 led directly to P67. The crew were also warned they would not be in a full-lift (heads-down) attitude when they entered P67.<ref name="ALSJ Re-entry">{{cite web |url=https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap11fj/26day9-reentry.html |publisher=Apollo Flight Journal |title=Day 9: Re-entry and Splashdown |via=NASA |first1=W. David |last1=Woods |first2=Kenneth D. |last2=MacTaggart |first3=Frank |last3=O'Brien |access-date=September 27, 2018 |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112040353/https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap11fj/26day9-reentry.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The first program's acceleration subjected the astronauts to {{convert|6.5|g0}}; the second, to {{convert|6.0|g0}}.{{sfn|Mission Evaluation Team|1969|p=28}}

Before dawn on July 24, ''Hornet'' launched four Sea King helicopters and three [[Engineering:Grumman E-1 Tracer|Grumman E-1 Tracer]]s. Two of the E-1s were designated as "air boss" while the third acted as a communications relay aircraft. Two of the Sea Kings carried divers and recovery equipment. The third carried photographic equipment, and the fourth carried the decontamination swimmer and the flight surgeon.{{sfn|Mission Evaluation Team|1969|pp=169–170}} At 16:44 UTC (05:44 local time) ''Columbia''{{'}}s [[Engineering:Drogue parachute|drogue parachute]]s were deployed. This was observed by the helicopters. Seven minutes later ''Columbia'' struck the water forcefully {{convert|2660|km|nmi|abbr=on}} east of Wake Island, {{convert|380|km|nmi|abbr=on}} south of Johnston Atoll, and {{convert|24|km|nmi|abbr=on}} from ''Hornet'',{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=109}}<ref name="ALSJ Re-entry" /> at {{Coord|13|19|N|169|9|W|display=inline}}.{{sfn|Mission Evaluation Team|1969|p=170}} {{Convert|82|F||abbr=}} with {{Convert|6|ft||abbr=}} seas and winds at {{Convert|17|knot||abbr=}} from the east were reported under broken clouds at {{Convert|1500|ft||abbr=}} with visibility of {{Convert|10|NM||abbr=}} at the recovery site.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.weather.gov/smg/apollo|title=SMG Weather History—Apollo Program|last=US Department of Commerce|first=NOAA|website=www.weather.gov|language=EN-US|access-date=July 22, 2019|archive-date=January 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125192340/https://www.weather.gov/smg/apollo|url-status=live}}</ref> Reconnaissance aircraft flying to the original splashdown location reported the conditions Brandli and Houston had predicted.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stripes.com/news/they-would-get-killed-the-weather-forecast-that-saved-apollo-11-1.590922|title='They would get killed': The weather forecast that saved Apollo 11|website=Stars and Stripes|access-date=July 22, 2019|archive-date=July 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726072946/https://www.stripes.com/news/they-would-get-killed-the-weather-forecast-that-saved-apollo-11-1.590922|url-status=live}}</ref>

During [[Engineering:Splashdown|splashdown]], ''Columbia'' landed upside down but was righted within ten minutes by flotation bags activated by the astronauts.{{sfn|Mission Evaluation Team|1969|pp=164–167}} A diver from the Navy helicopter hovering above attached a sea anchor to prevent it from drifting.{{sfn|Carmichael|2010|pp=184–185}} More divers attached flotation collars to stabilize the module and positioned rafts for astronaut extraction.{{sfn|Carmichael|2010|pp=186–188}}

{{multiple image
 | align = left
 | total_width = 420

 | image1 = President Nixon welcomes the Apollo 11 astronauts aboard the U.S.S. Hornet.jpg
 | caption1 = Crew of Apollo 11 in [[Medicine:Quarantine|quarantine]] after returning to Earth, visited by Richard Nixon

 | image2 = Apollo 11 Mobile Quarantine Facility at the Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center in 2009.jpg
 | caption2 = Apollo 11 Mobile Quarantine Facility on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia in 2009
}}
The divers then passed biological isolation garments (BIGs) to the astronauts, and assisted them into the life raft. The possibility of bringing back [[Biology:Pathogen|pathogen]]s from the lunar surface was considered remote, but NASA took precautions at the recovery site. The astronauts were rubbed down with a [[Chemistry:Sodium hypochlorite|sodium hypochlorite]] solution and ''Columbia'' wiped with [[Chemistry:Povidone-iodine|Povidone-iodine]] to remove any lunar dust that might be present. The astronauts were winched on board the recovery helicopter. BIGs were worn until they reached isolation facilities on board ''Hornet''. The raft containing decontamination materials was intentionally sunk.{{sfn|Mission Evaluation Team|1969|pp=164–167}}

After touchdown on ''Hornet'' at 17:53 UTC, the helicopter was lowered by the elevator into the hangar bay, where the astronauts walked the {{convert|30|ft|m}} to the [[Engineering:Mobile quarantine facility|Mobile quarantine facility]] (MQF), where they would begin the Earth-based portion of their 21 days of quarantine.{{sfn|Carmichael|2010|pp=199–200}} This practice would continue for two more Apollo missions, Apollo 12 and [[Engineering:Apollo 14|Apollo 14]], before the Moon was proven to be barren of life, and the quarantine process dropped.{{sfn|Johnston|Dietlein|Berry|1975|pp=406–424}}<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-368/s5ch1.htm|title=The Lunar Quarantine Program|journal=Biomedical Results of Apollo |date=January 1975 |volume=NASA-SP-368 |id=SP-368|access-date=September 6, 2019|archive-date=July 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190714121926/https://history.nasa.gov/SP-368/s5ch1.htm|url-status=live |last1=Johnston |first1=Richard S. |last2=Dietlein |first2=Lawrence F. |last3=Berry |first3=Charles A. |last4=James f. Parker |first4=Jr |last5=West |first5=Vita |last6=Jones |first6=Walton L. }}</ref> Nixon welcomed the astronauts back to Earth. He told them: "[A]<!-- lowercase in source -->s a result of what you've done, the world has never been closer together before."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-apollo-11-astronauts-aboard-the-uss-hornet-following-completion-their-lunar |access-date=November 19, 2018 |title=Remarks to Apollo 11 Astronauts Aboard the U.S.S. Hornet Following Completion of Their Lunar Mission |work=The American Presidency Project |publisher=UC Santa Barbara |date=July 24, 1969 |archive-date=July 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726072005/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-apollo-11-astronauts-aboard-the-uss-hornet-following-completion-their-lunar |url-status=live }}</ref>

After Nixon departed, ''Hornet'' was brought alongside the {{convert|5|ST|adj=on}} ''Columbia'', which was lifted aboard by the ship's crane, placed on a [[Engineering:Dolly (trailer)|dolly]] and moved next to the MQF. It was then attached to the MQF with a flexible tunnel, allowing the lunar samples, film, data tapes and other items to be removed. ''Hornet'' returned to Pearl Harbor, where the MQF was loaded onto a [[Engineering:Lockheed C-141 Starlifter|Lockheed C-141 Starlifter]] and airlifted to the Manned Spacecraft Center. The astronauts arrived at the [[Organization:Lunar Receiving Laboratory|Lunar Receiving Laboratory]] at 10:00 UTC on July 28. ''Columbia'' was taken to Ford Island for deactivation, and its pyrotechnics made safe. It was then taken to {{wipe|Hickham Air Force Base}}, from whence it was flown to Houston in a [[Engineering:Douglas C-133 Cargomaster|Douglas C-133 Cargomaster]], reaching the Lunar Receiving Laboratory on July 30.{{sfn|Mission Evaluation Team|1969|pp=166, 171–173}}

In accordance with the [[Astronomy:Extra-Terrestrial Exposure Law|Extra-Terrestrial Exposure Law]], a set of regulations promulgated by NASA on July 16 to codify its quarantine protocol,<ref>Extra-Terrestrial Exposure, 34 Federal Register 11975 (July 16, 1969), ''codified at'' Federal Aviation Regulation pt. [https://books.google.com/books?id=7rU5AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA94 1200] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522063235/https://books.google.com/books?id=7rU5AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA94 |date=May 22, 2021 }}</ref> the astronauts continued in quarantine. After three weeks in confinement (first in the Apollo spacecraft, then in their trailer on ''Hornet'', and finally in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory), the astronauts were given a clean bill of health.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nasaexplores.com/extras/apollo11/hirasaki.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20060319184027/http://www.nasaexplores.com/extras/apollo11/hirasaki.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 19, 2006 |title=A Front Row Seat For History |date=July 15, 2004 |work=NASAexplores |publisher=NASA |access-date=June 14, 2013}}</ref> On August 10, 1969, the Interagency Committee on Back Contamination met in Atlanta and lifted the quarantine on the astronauts, on those who had joined them in quarantine (NASA physician William Carpentier and MQF project engineer John Hirasaki),{{sfn|Carmichael|2010|p=118}} and on ''Columbia'' itself. Loose equipment from the spacecraft remained in isolation until the lunar samples were released for study.{{sfn|Ertel|Newkirk|Brooks|1978|p=312}}

=== Celebrations ===

[[File:Apollo 11 ticker tape parade 1.jpg|thumb|Ticker tape parade in New York City]]

On August 13, the three astronauts rode in ticker-tape parades in their honor in New York and Chicago, with an estimated six million attendees.<ref name="LADinner">{{cite web |title=Richard Nixon: Remarks at a Dinner in Los Angeles Honoring the Apollo 11 Astronauts |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-dinner-los-angeles-honoring-the-apollo-11-astronauts |website=The American Presidency Project |access-date=October 24, 2017 |date=August 13, 1969 |archive-date=May 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200514120049/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-dinner-los-angeles-honoring-the-apollo-11-astronauts |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27531303/the_evening_sun/|title=President Offers Toast to 'Three Brave Men'|newspaper=The Evening Sun|date=August 14, 1969|page=1|location=Baltimore, Maryland|via=Newspapers.com|agency=Associated Press|access-date=January 23, 2019|archive-date=April 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419103143/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27531303/the_evening_sun/|url-status=live}}</ref> On the same evening in Los Angeles there was an official state dinner to celebrate the flight, attended by members of Congress, 44 governors, Chief Justice of the United States Warren E. Burger and his predecessor, Earl Warren, and ambassadors from 83 nations at the Century Plaza Hotel. Nixon and Agnew honored each astronaut with a presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.<ref name="LADinner" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27531557/the_honolulu_advertiser/|title=Astronauts Awed by the Acclaim|newspaper=The Honolulu Advertiser|location=Honolulu, Hawaii|page=1|date=August 14, 1969|last1=Smith|first1=Merriman|agency=UPI|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=January 23, 2019|archive-date=April 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419103552/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27531557/the_honolulu_advertiser/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The three astronauts spoke before a joint session of Congress on September 16, 1969. They presented two US flags, one to the House of Representatives and the other to the Senate, that they had carried with them to the surface of the Moon.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://history.house.gov/HistoricalHighlight/Detail/35693 |title=The Apollo 11 Crew Members Appear Before a Joint Meeting of Congress |access-date=March 3, 2018 |publisher=United States House of Representatives |archive-date=March 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180304231417/http://history.house.gov/HistoricalHighlight/Detail/35693 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fodors.com/world/australia-and-the-pacific/american-samoa/things-to-do/sights/reviews/jean-p-haydon-museum-584573 |title=Jean P. Haydon Museum |publisher=Fodor's Travel |access-date=March 5, 2018 |archive-date=October 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023230753/http://www.fodors.com/world/australia-and-the-pacific/american-samoa/things-to-do/sights/reviews/jean-p-haydon-museum-584573 |url-status=live }}</ref>

This celebration began a 38-day world tour that brought the astronauts to 22 countries and included visits with many world leaders.<ref name="Apollo 11 Crew Starts World Tour">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27494178/the_logan_daily_news/|title=Apollo 11 Crew Starts World Tour|agency=Associated Press|date=September 29, 1969|page=1|location=Logan, Ohio|newspaper=Logan Daily News|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=January 23, 2019|archive-date=March 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327161210/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27494178/the_logan_daily_news/|url-status=live}}</ref> The crew toured from September 29 to November 5.<ref name="Apollo 11 Crew Starts World Tour" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27529119/the_los_angeles_times/|title=Japan's Sato Gives Medals to Apollo Crew|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=November 5, 1969|page=20|location=Los Angeles, California|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=January 23, 2019|archive-date=March 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327161140/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27529119/the_los_angeles_times/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27529322/the_sydney_morning_herald/|title=Australia Welcomes Apollo 11 Heroes|date=November 1, 1969|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|location=Sydney, New South Wales|page=1|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=January 23, 2019|archive-date=January 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123071612/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27529322/the_sydney_morning_herald/|url-status=live}}</ref> The world tour started in Mexico City and ended in Tokyo.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Uri |first=John |date=November 5, 2019 |title=50 Years Ago: Apollo 11 Astronauts Return from Around the World Goodwill Tour |url=https://www.nasa.gov/history/50-years-ago-apollo-11-astronauts-return-from-around-the-world-goodwill-tour/ |access-date=December 25, 2023 |website=NASA}}</ref> Stops on the tour in order were: [[Place:Mexico City|Mexico City]], [[Place:Bogotá|Bogota]], [[Place:Buenos Aires|Buenos Aires]], Rio de Janeiro, [[Place:Las Palmas|Las Palmas]] in the Canary Islands, [[Place:Madrid|Madrid]], [[Place:Paris|Paris]], [[Place:Amsterdam|Amsterdam]], Brussels, [[Place:Oslo|Oslo]], Cologne, [[Place:Berlin|Berlin]], [[Place:London|London]], [[Place:Rome|Rome]], [[Place:Belgrade|Belgrade]], [[Place:Ankara|Ankara]], [[Place:Kinshasa|Kinshasa]], [[Place:Tehran|Tehran]], {{wipe|Mumbai}}, [[Place:Dhaka|Dhaka]], [[Place:Bangkok|Bangkok]], Darwin, [[Place:Sydney|Sydney]], Guam, [[Place:Seoul|Seoul]], [[Place:Tokyo|Tokyo]] and Honolulu.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Scientific and Technical Information Branch, National Aeronautics and Space Administration |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RtW-GMUfcFcC |title=Astronautics and Aeronautics: Chronology of Science, Technology, and Policy |year=1970 |pages=312 |via=Google Books}}</ref> 

Many nations honored the first human [[Astronomy:Moon landing|Moon landing]] with special features in magazines or by issuing Apollo 11 commemorative postage stamps or coins.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lunarhall.org/missions/apollo/11.html |title=Lunar Missions: Apollo 11 |date=2008 |website=Lunar Hall of Fame |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081024222503/http://www.lunarhall.org/missions/apollo/11.html |archive-date=October 24, 2008 |url-status=dead |access-date=June 9, 2014}}</ref>

== Legacy ==

=== Cultural significance ===
{{main|Astronomy:Apollo 11 in popular culture}}
[[File:Land on the Moon 7 21 1969-repair.jpg|thumb|A girl holding ''{{wipe|The Washington Post}}'' newspaper stating "'The Eagle Has Landed' – Two Men Walk on the Moon"]]
Humans walking on the Moon and returning safely to Earth accomplished Kennedy's goal set eight years earlier. In Mission Control during the Apollo 11 landing, Kennedy's speech flashed on the screen, followed by the words "TASK ACCOMPLISHED, July 1969".<ref name="Launius" /> The success of Apollo 11 demonstrated the United States' technological superiority;<ref name="Launius">{{cite web|url=https://history.nasa.gov/Apollomon/Apollo.html|last1=Launius|first1=Roger D.|access-date=July 19, 2023|title= Project Apollo: A Retrospective Analysis|archive-date=January 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126101051/https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/Apollomon/Apollo.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and with the success of Apollo 11, America had won the [[Astronomy:Space Race|Space Race]].{{sfn|Chaikin|2007|page=57}}{{sfn|Schefter|1999|p=288}}

New phrases permeated into the English language. "If they can send a man to the Moon, why can't they&nbsp;...?" became a common saying following Apollo 11.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=Washington Post |title=We Put a Man on the Moon, So Why Can't We ...? |first1=David |last1=Beard |first2=Nick |last2=Kirkpatrick |date=July 17, 2014 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/07/17/we-put-a-man-on-the-moon-so-why-cant-we/?noredirect=on |access-date=January 4, 2018 |archive-date=June 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626111712/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/07/17/we-put-a-man-on-the-moon-so-why-cant-we/?noredirect=on |url-status=live }}</ref> Armstrong's words on the lunar surface also spun off various parodies.{{sfn|Chaikin|2007|page=57}}

While most people celebrated the accomplishment, disenfranchised Americans saw it as a symbol of the divide in America, evidenced by protesters led by Ralph Abernathy outside of Kennedy Space Center the day before Apollo 11 launched.{{sfn|Schefter|1999|p=283}} NASA Administrator Thomas Paine met with Abernathy at the occasion, both hoping that the space program can spur progress also in other regards, such as poverty in the US.<ref name="Niiler 2019"/> Paine was then asked, and agreed, to host protesters as spectators at the launch,<ref name="Niiler 2019"/> and Abernathy, awestruck by the spectacle,{{sfn|Brooks|Grimwood|Swenson|1979|p=338}} prayed for the astronauts.<ref name="Niiler 2019">{{cite web | last=Niiler | first=Eric | title=Why Civil Rights Activists Protested the Moon Landing | website=HISTORY | date=2019-07-11 | url=https://www.history.com/.amp/news/apollo-11-moon-landing-launch-protests | access-date=2021-11-10}}</ref> Racial and financial inequalities frustrated citizens who wondered why money spent on the Apollo program was not spent taking care of humans on Earth. A poem by Gil Scott-Heron called "Whitey on the Moon" (1970) illustrated the racial inequality in the United States that was highlighted by the Space Race.{{sfn|Chaikin|2007|p=57}}<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/05/gil-scott-herons-poem-whitey-on-the-moon/239622/|title=Gil Scott-Heron's Poem, 'Whitey on the Moon'|last1=Madrigal|first1=Alexis C.|date=May 28, 2011|access-date=January 3, 2019|magazine=The Atlantic|archive-date=February 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210216114355/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/05/gil-scott-herons-poem-whitey-on-the-moon/239622/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="whitey">{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthis-chiroux/whitey-on-the-moon-again_b_1188220.html|title=Whitey on the Moon, Again?|date=March 11, 2012|last1=Chiroux|first1=Matthis|work=Huffington Post|access-date=January 3, 2019|archive-date=November 5, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105091157/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthis-chiroux/whitey-on-the-moon-again_b_1188220.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The poem starts with:

{{Poemquote|A rat done bit my sister Nell.
(with Whitey on the moon)
Her face and arms began to swell.
(and Whitey's on the moon)
I can't pay no doctor bill.
(but Whitey's on the moon)
Ten years from now I'll be paying still.
(while Whitey's on the moon)
[...]<ref name="whitey" />}}

Twenty percent of the world's population watched humans walk on the Moon for the first time.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times |title=The Apollo 11 Mission Was Also a Global Media Sensation |first=Tiffany |last=Hsu  |date=15 July 2019 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/15/business/media/apollo-11-television-media.html |access-date=20 July 2023}}</ref> While Apollo 11 sparked the interest of the world, the follow-on Apollo missions did not hold the interest of the nation.<ref name="Launius" /> One possible explanation was the shift in complexity. Landing someone on the Moon was an easy goal to understand; lunar geology was too abstract for the average person. Another is that Kennedy's goal of landing humans on the Moon had already been accomplished.{{sfn|Chaikin|2007|p=58}} A well-defined objective helped Project Apollo accomplish its goal, but after it was completed it was hard to justify continuing the lunar missions.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4214/ch14-7.html|title=Where No Man Has Gone Before: A History of Apollo Lunar Exploration Missions|journal=NASA Special Publication|volume=494|pages=420|last1=Compton|first1=William David|bibcode=1989NASSP.494..420C|year=1989|access-date=January 4, 2019|archive-date=June 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626193736/https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4214/ch14-7.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.history.com/topics/space-exploration/apollo-11|title=Apollo 11|publisher=History|date=August 23, 2018|access-date=January 3, 2019|archive-date=January 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190104133330/https://www.history.com/topics/space-exploration/apollo-11|url-status=live}}</ref>

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". By 1973, 59 percent of those polled favored cutting spending on space exploration. The Space Race had been won, and Cold War tensions were easing as the US and Soviet Union entered the era of détente. This was also a time when [[Finance:Inflation|inflation]] was rising, which put pressure on the government to reduce spending. What saved the space program was that it was one of the few government programs that had achieved something great. 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".{{sfn|McCurdy|1997|pp=106–107}}

After the Apollo 11 mission, officials from the Soviet Union said landing humans on the Moon was dangerous and unnecessary. At the time the Soviet Union was attempting to retrieve lunar samples robotically. The Soviets publicly denied there was a race to the Moon, and indicated they were not making an attempt.{{sfn|Chaikin|1994|p=631}} [[Biography:Mstislav Keldysh|Mstislav Keldysh]] said in July 1969, "We are concentrating wholly on the creation of large satellite systems." It was revealed in 1989 that the Soviets had tried to send people to the Moon, but were unable due to technological difficulties.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/18/us/russians-finally-admit-they-lost-race-to-moon.html|title=Russians Finally Admit They Lost Race to Moon|last1=Wilford|first1=John Noble|date=December 18, 1989|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=January 8, 2019|archive-date=November 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113113539/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/18/us/russians-finally-admit-they-lost-race-to-moon.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The public's reaction in the Soviet Union was mixed. The Soviet government limited the release of information about the lunar landing, which affected the reaction. A portion of the populace did not give it any attention, and another portion was angered by it.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/apollo-moon-khrushchev/|title=The Moon Landing through Soviet Eyes: A Q&A with Sergei Khrushchev, son of former premier Nikita Khrushchev|magazine=Scientific American|date=July 16, 2009|access-date=January 7, 2019|last1=Das|first1=Saswato R.|archive-date=February 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225085952/http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/apollo-moon-khrushchev/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Apollo 11 landing is referenced in the songs "Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins" by the Byrds on the 1969 album ''Ballad of Easy Rider'' and "Coon on the Moon" by Howlin' Wolf on the 1973 album ''The Back Door Wolf''.

=== Spacecraft ===

[[File:Apollo 11 Columbia.png|thumb|left|''Columbia'' on display in the Milestones of Flight exhibition hall at the National Air and Space Museum]]

The command module ''Columbia'' went on a tour of the United States, visiting 49 state capitals, the [[Place:Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]], and Anchorage, Alaska.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Last Time the Command Module ''Columbia'' Toured |date=February 25, 2017 |first=Allan |last=Needell |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/last-time-command-module-columbia-toured |website=Smithsonian Air and Space Museum |access-date=November 9, 2018 |archive-date=November 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101145215/https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/last-time-command-module-columbia-toured |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1971, it was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution, and was displayed at the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) in Washington, DC.<ref name=SIColumbia/> 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 ''[[Engineering:Wright Flyer|Wright Flyer]]'', ''[[Engineering:Spirit of St. Louis|Spirit of St. Louis]]'', [[Engineering:Bell X-1|Bell X-1]], [[Engineering:North American X-15|North American X-15]] and ''Friendship 7''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/about/history/museum-dc |title=Museum in DC |website=Smithsonian Air and Space Museum |access-date=September 25, 2018 |date=May 3, 2016 |archive-date=November 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111064813/https://airandspace.si.edu/about/history/museum-dc |url-status=live }}</ref>

''Columbia'' was moved in 2017 to the NASM Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, to be readied for a four-city tour titled ''Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission''. This included Space Center Houston from October 14, 2017, to March 18, 2018, the [[Engineering:Saint Louis Science Center|Saint Louis Science Center]] from April 14 to September 3, 2018, the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh from September 29, 2018, to February 18, 2019, and its last location at Museum of Flight in Seattle from March 16 to September 2, 2019.<ref name=SIColumbia>{{cite web|title=Apollo 11 Command Module ''Columbia''|url=https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/command-module-apollo-11|website=Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum|access-date=August 27, 2017|archive-date=July 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720224030/https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/command-module-apollo-11|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.airspacemag.com/daily-planet/apollo-11-artifacts-go-tour-180962247/#vdLWIR4Sfofhv24g.99 |title=Apollo 11 Moonship To Go On Tour |first=Rebecca |last=Maksel |magazine=Air and Space Magazine |date=February 22, 2017 |access-date=August 27, 2017 |archive-date=August 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827214927/http://www.airspacemag.com/daily-planet/apollo-11-artifacts-go-tour-180962247/#vdLWIR4Sfofhv24g.99 |url-status=live }}</ref> Continued renovations at the Smithsonian allowed time for an additional stop for the capsule, and it was moved to the Cincinnati Museum Center. The ribbon cutting ceremony was on September 29, 2019.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-093019a-destination-moon-cincinnati-museum.html|title=Neil Armstrong's sons help open exhibit of father's spacecraft in Ohio|date=September 30, 2019|website=collectSPACE|access-date=October 18, 2019|archive-date=March 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301034818/http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-093019a-destination-moon-cincinnati-museum.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

For 40 years Armstrong's and Aldrin's space suits were displayed in the museum's ''Apollo to the Moon'' exhibit,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/apollo-moon|title=Apollo to the Moon|website=Smithsonian Air and Space Museum|access-date=September 25, 2018|date=March 20, 2003|archive-date=September 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180925025805/https://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/apollo-moon|url-status=live}}</ref> until it permanently closed on December 3, 2018, to be replaced by a new gallery which was scheduled to open in 2022. A special display of Armstrong's suit was unveiled for the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 in July 2019.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-113018a-nasm-apollo-moon-closure.html |title='Apollo to the Moon' no more: Air and Space Museum closes gallery |website=collectSPACE |access-date=December 16, 2018 |archive-date=February 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225233644/http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-113018a-nasm-apollo-moon-closure.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-space-exploration-moon-spacesuit/neil-armstrongs-apollo-11-spacesuit-unveiled-at-smithsonian-idUSKCN1UB2GX|title=Neil Armstrong's Apollo 11 spacesuit unveiled at Smithsonian|website=Reuters|date=July 16, 2019|access-date=December 21, 2019|archive-date=January 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126094418/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-space-exploration-moon-spacesuit/neil-armstrongs-apollo-11-spacesuit-unveiled-at-smithsonian-idUSKCN1UB2GX|url-status=live}}</ref> The quarantine trailer, the flotation collar and the flotation bags are in the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center annex near Washington Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Virginia, where they are on display along with a test lunar module.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/mobile-quarantine-facility|title=Mobile Quarantine Facility|website=Smithsonian Air and Space Museum|access-date=September 30, 2018|date=March 20, 2016|archive-date=August 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810075621/https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/mobile-quarantine-facility|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/flotation-collar-apollo-11|title=Apollo 11 Flotation Collar|website=Smithsonian Air and Space Museum|access-date=September 30, 2018|date=March 20, 2016|archive-date=August 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809001701/https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/flotation-collar-apollo-11|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://airandspace.si.edu/newsroom/press-releases/national-air-and-space-museum-moves-apollo-artifact-future-home|title=National Air and Space Museum Moves Apollo Artifact to Future Home|website=Smithsonian Air and Space Museum|access-date=September 25, 2018|date=September 15, 2015|archive-date=October 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023205740/https://airandspace.si.edu/newsroom/press-releases/national-air-and-space-museum-moves-apollo-artifact-future-home|url-status=live}}</ref>

The descent stage of the LM ''Eagle'' remains on the Moon. In 2009, the [[Astronomy:Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter|Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter]] (LRO) imaged the various Apollo landing sites on the surface of the Moon, for the first time with sufficient resolution to see the descent stages of the lunar modules, scientific instruments, and foot trails made by the astronauts.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/multimedia/lroimages/apollosites.html |title=LRO Sees Apollo Landing Sites |publisher=NASA |access-date=September 25, 2018 |date=July 17, 2009 |archive-date=February 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210215074327/https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/multimedia/lroimages/apollosites.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The remains of the ascent stage lie at an unknown location on the lunar surface, after being abandoned and impacting the Moon. 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/apollo/apollo-program/spacecraft/location/lm.cfm?dom=pscau |title=Location of Apollo Lunar Modules |website=Smithsonian Air and Space Museum |access-date=September 24, 2018 |archive-date=July 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726080107/https://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/apollo/apollo-program/spacecraft/location/lm.cfm?dom=pscau |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{multiple image
 | align = right
 | total_width = 485
 | image1 = F-1 Injector Plate (Front).jpg
 | image2 = F-1 Injector Plate (Rear).jpg
 | footer = F-1 Engine Injector Plate on temporary display at the Cincinnati Museum Center in 2019
}}
In March 2012 a team of specialists financed by Amazon founder [[Biography:Jeff Bezos|Jeff Bezos]] located the F-1 engines from the S-IC stage that launched Apollo 11 into space. They were found on the Atlantic seabed using advanced sonar scanning.<ref>{{cite news |title=Amazon boss Jeff Bezos 'finds Apollo 11 Moon engines' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17544565 |work=BBC News |location=London |date=March 28, 2012 |access-date=June 14, 2013 |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112000849/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17544565 |url-status=live }}</ref> His team brought parts of two of the five engines to the surface. In July 2013, a conservator discovered a serial number under the rust on one of the engines raised from the Atlantic, which NASA confirmed was from Apollo 11.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2013/07/19/bezos-expeditions-retrieves-and-identifies-apollo-11-engine-5-nasa-confirms-identity/ |title=Bezos Expeditions retrieves and identifies Apollo 11 engine #5, NASA confirms identity |last=Kolawole |first=Emi |date=July 19, 2013 |access-date=February 13, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-date=January 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115192857/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2013/07/19/bezos-expeditions-retrieves-and-identifies-apollo-11-engine-5-nasa-confirms-identity/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26447397/albuquerque_journal/|title=Apollo 11 engine find confirmed|newspaper=Albuquerque Journal|date=July 21, 2013|page=5|via=Newspapers.com|location=Albuquerque, New Mexico|access-date=December 23, 2018|archive-date=April 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407205529/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26447397/albuquerque_journal/|url-status=live}}</ref> The S-IVB third stage which performed Apollo 11's trans-lunar injection remains in a solar orbit near to that of Earth.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1969-059B|title=Apollo 11 SIVB NSSDCA/COSPAR ID: 1969-059B|publisher=NASA|work=NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive|access-date=December 30, 2018|archive-date=January 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125192348/https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1969-059B|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:430-L1-S1 640.jpg|thumb|Pieces of fabric and wood from the first airplane, the 1903 ''Wright Flyer'', traveled to the Moon in the lunar module and are displayed at the Wright Brothers National Memorial.]]

=== Moon rocks ===

The main repository for the Apollo Moon rocks is the [[Organization:Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility|Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility]] at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. For safekeeping, there is also a smaller collection stored at [[Organization:White Sands Test Facility|White Sands Test Facility]] near Las Cruces, New Mexico. Most of the rocks are stored in nitrogen to keep them free of moisture. They are handled only indirectly, using special tools. Over 100 research laboratories worldwide conduct studies of the samples; approximately 500 samples are prepared and sent to investigators every year.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/lun-fac.cfm |title=Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility |publisher=NASA |access-date=September 25, 2018 |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125125526/https://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/lun-fac.cfm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://world.wng.org/2016/09/the_mystery_of_the_missing_moon_rocks |title=The mystery of the missing Moon rocks |publisher=World |first=Kristen |last=Flavin |date=September 10, 2016 |access-date=September 25, 2018 |archive-date=October 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021101947/https://world.wng.org/2016/09/the_mystery_of_the_missing_moon_rocks |url-status=live }}</ref>

In November 1969, Nixon asked NASA to make up about 250 presentation [[Astronomy:Apollo 11 lunar sample display|Apollo 11 lunar sample display]]s for 135 nations, the fifty states of the United States and its possessions, and the United Nations. Each display included Moon dust from Apollo 11 and flags, including the one of the Soviet Union, taken along by Apollo 11. The rice-sized particles were four small pieces of Moon soil weighing about 50&nbsp;mg and were enveloped in a clear acrylic button about as big as a United States half dollar coin. This acrylic button magnified the grains of lunar dust. Nixon gave the Apollo 11 lunar sample displays as goodwill gifts in 1970.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.collectspace.com/resources/moonrocks_apollo11.html |title=Where today are the Apollo 11 goodwill lunar sample displays? |first1=Robert |last1=Pearlman |publisher=collectSPACE |access-date=November 2, 2012 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108235454/http://www.collectspace.com/resources/moonrocks_apollo11.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>''Earth'' magazine, March 2011, pp. 42–51</ref>

=== Experiment results ===

The Passive Seismic Experiment ran until the command uplink failed on August 25, 1969. The downlink failed on December 14, 1969.{{sfn|Bates|Lauderdale|Kernaghan|1979|pp=2-3 & 4-32}}<!-- Hyphens, not ndashes --> {{As of|2018}}, the Lunar Laser Ranging experiment remains operational.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/report-humans-have-left-500-000-pounds-trash-the-moon/8UcB7ECGVXSLyMWrdhqk1L/ |title=Report: Humans have left 500,000 pounds of 'trash' on the Moon |newspaper=Palm Beach Post |date=March 5, 2018 |first=Chelsea |last=Todaro |access-date=September 27, 2018 |archive-date=October 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020153003/https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/report-humans-have-left-500-000-pounds-trash-the-moon/8UcB7ECGVXSLyMWrdhqk1L/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Armstrong's camera ===

Armstrong's Hasselblad camera was thought to be lost or left on the Moon surface.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJzOIh2eHqQ&t=38m18s|title=An Audience with Neil Armstrong (2011 interview)|website=Slartibartfast|date=May 2011|via=YouTube|access-date=July 19, 2019|archive-date=November 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109233952/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJzOIh2eHqQ|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== LM memorabilia ===

In 2015, after Armstrong died in 2012, his widow contacted the National Air and Space Museum to inform them she had found a white cloth bag in one of Armstrong's closets. The bag contained various items, which should have been left behind in the lunar module, including the 16mm Data Acquisition Camera that had been used to capture images of the first Moon landing.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11401781/Neil-Armstrongs-widow-discovers-moon-camera-in-cupboard.html|title=Neil Armstrong's widow discovers moon camera in cupboard|journal=Daily Telegraph|last=Allen|first=Nick|date=February 9, 2015|access-date=July 19, 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235|archive-date=November 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129145206/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11401781/Neil-Armstrongs-widow-discovers-moon-camera-in-cupboard.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11ReturnedEagleArtifacts.html|title=Lunar Surface Flown Apollo 11 Artifacts From the Neil Armstrong Estate|website=Apollo Lunar Surface Journal|last1=Jones|first1=Eric|last2=Lotzmann|first2=Ulli|last3=Glover|first3=Ken|last4=Needell|first4=Allan|access-date=July 19, 2019|date=January 6, 2016|archive-date=November 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111202315/https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11ReturnedEagleArtifacts.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The camera is currently on display at the National Air and Space Museum.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/armstrong-purse-flown-apollo-11-lunar-artifacts|title=The Armstrong Purse: Flown Apollo 11 Lunar Artifacts|date=February 6, 2015|website=National Air and Space Museum|language=en|access-date=July 19, 2019|archive-date=January 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126010506/https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/armstrong-purse-flown-apollo-11-lunar-artifacts|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Anniversary events ===
{{further|Astronomy:Apollo 11 anniversaries}}

==== <span id="40th anniversary events"></span>40th anniversary ====
[[File:Apollo 11 Command Module in Hangar.jpg|thumb|''Columbia'' at the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar]]

On July 15, 2009, Life.com released a photo gallery of previously unpublished photos of the astronauts taken by ''Life'' photographer Ralph Morse prior to the Apollo 11 launch.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://life.time.com/history/photos-up-close-with-apollo-11/#1 |title=Up Close With Apollo 11 |magazine=Life |access-date=June 14, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521161407/https://life.time.com/history/photos-up-close-with-apollo-11/ |archive-date=May 21, 2013}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/40th/apollo11_audio.html |title=Apollo 11 Onboard Audio |work=Apollo 40th Anniversary |publisher=NASA |access-date=June 14, 2013 |date=July 26, 2013 |archive-date=June 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603043816/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/40th/apollo11_audio.html |url-status=live }}</ref> It is in the process of restoring the video footage and has released a preview of key moments.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/hd/apollo11_hdpage.html |title=Apollo 11 Partial Restoration HD Videos (Downloads) |editor-last=Garner |editor-first=Robert |publisher=NASA |access-date=June 14, 2013 |date=March 16, 2015 |archive-date=June 28, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130628085558/http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/hd/apollo11_hdpage.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In July 2010, air-to-ground voice recordings and film footage shot in Mission Control during the Apollo 11 powered descent and landing was re-synchronized and released for the first time.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Sound restored to mission control film shot during Apollo 11 Moon landing |first=Christopher |last=Riley |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2010/jul/20/sound-apollo-11-moon-landing |work={{wipe|The Guardian}} |location=London |date=July 20, 2010 |access-date=July 11, 2013 |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109032807/http://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2010/jul/20/sound-apollo-11-moon-landing |url-status=live }}</ref> The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum set up an [[Software:Adobe Flash|Adobe Flash]] website that rebroadcasts the transmissions of Apollo 11 from launch to landing on the Moon.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wechoosethemoon.org/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090617230719/http://wechoosethemoon.org/|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 17, 2009 |title=We Choose the Moon |publisher=John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum |access-date=July 19, 2009}}</ref>

On July 20, 2009, Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins met with US President [[Biography:Barack Obama|Barack Obama]] at the White House.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1422.html |title=Apollo 11 Crew Meets With President Obama |date=July 20, 2009 |work=Image of the Day Gallery |publisher=NASA |access-date=June 9, 2014 |archive-date=November 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111124903/http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1422.html |url-status=live }}</ref> "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. "We want to make sure that NASA is going to be there for them when they want to take their journey."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/science/space/21obama.html |work=The New York Times |first=Jeff |last=Zeleny |title=Obama Hails Apollo Crew From a Lens of Childhood |date=July 21, 2009 |access-date=February 14, 2017 |archive-date=February 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211230936/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/science/space/21obama.html |url-status=live }}</ref> On August 7, 2009, an act of Congress awarded the three astronauts a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award in the United States. The bill was sponsored by Florida Senator Bill Nelson and Florida Representative Alan Grayson.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-s951/text |title=Text of S.951 as Engrossed in Senate: New Frontier Congressional Gold Medal Act—U.S. Congress—OpenCongress |publisher=OpenCongress.org |access-date=June 14, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103063854/https://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-s951/text |archive-date=November 3, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h2245/text |title=Text of H.R.2245 as Enrolled Bill: New Frontier Congressional Gold Medal Act—U.S. Congress—OpenCongress |publisher=OpenCongress.org |access-date=June 14, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103064013/https://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h2245/text |archive-date=November 3, 2012}}</ref>

A group of British scientists interviewed as part of the anniversary events reflected on the significance of the Moon landing:

{{blockquote|It was carried out in a technically brilliant way with risks taken&nbsp;... that would be inconceivable in the risk-averse world of today&nbsp;... The Apollo programme is arguably the greatest technical achievement of mankind to date&nbsp;... nothing since Apollo has come close [to] the excitement that was generated by those astronauts—Armstrong, Aldrin and the 10 others who followed them.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Moon landings: British scientists salute space heroes |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/5848707/Moon-landings-British-scientists-salute-space-heroes.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |date=July 17, 2009 |access-date=June 14, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130308224145/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/5848707/Moon-landings-British-scientists-salute-space-heroes.html |archive-date=March 8, 2013 |df=mdy}}</ref>}}

==== 50th anniversary ====
{{further|Astronomy:Apollo 11 50th Anniversary commemorative coins}}

On June 10, 2015, Congressman Bill Posey introduced resolution H.R. 2726 to the 114th session of the United States House of Representatives directing the United States Mint to design and sell commemorative coins in gold, silver and clad for the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. On January 24, 2019, the Mint released the Apollo 11 Fiftieth Anniversary commemorative coins to the public on its website.<ref>{{USPL|114|282|Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usmint.gov/learn/coin-and-medal-programs/commemorative-coins/apollo-11-50th-anniversary|title=Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Program|website=United States Mint|date=October 11, 2018 |access-date=February 1, 2019|archive-date=January 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126093153/https://www.usmint.gov/learn/coin-and-medal-programs/commemorative-coins/apollo-11-50th-anniversary|url-status=live}}</ref>

A documentary film, ''Apollo 11'', with restored footage of the 1969 event, premiered in [[IMAX]] on March 1, 2019, and broadly in theaters on March 8.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kenny |first=Glenn |title='Apollo 11' Review: The 1969 Moon Mission Still Has the Power to Thrill |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/27/movies/apollo-11-review.html |date=February 27, 2019 |work={{wipe|The New York Times}} |access-date=February 28, 2019 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108003215/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/27/movies/apollo-11-review.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/2019/film/news/apollo-11-documentary-imax-release-1203138469/|title='Apollo 11' Documentary Gets Exclusive Imax Release|magazine=Variety|date=February 13, 2019|last1=Rubin|first1=Rebecca|access-date=September 6, 2019|archive-date=December 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201219103744/https://variety.com/2019/film/news/apollo-11-documentary-imax-release-1203138469/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Smithsonian Institute's National Air and Space Museum and [[Organization:NASA|NASA]] sponsored the "Apollo 50 Festival" on the National Mall in Washington DC. The three day (July 18 to 20, 2019) outdoor festival featured hands-on exhibits and activities, live performances, and speakers such as [[Biography:Adam Savage|Adam Savage]] and NASA scientists.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://airandspace.si.edu/apollo-50-festival|title=Apollo 50 Festival|website=Smithsonian Air and Space Museum|access-date=July 21, 2019|archive-date=February 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211164735/https://airandspace.si.edu/apollo-50-festival|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Apollo 11 projected on the washington monument.jpg|upright|thumb|Saturn V rocket projected onto the Washington Monument during the Apollo 11 50th anniversary show]]

As part of the festival, a projection of the {{Convert|363|ft|adj=on}} tall [[Engineering:Saturn V|Saturn V]] rocket was displayed on the east face of the {{Convert|555|ft|adj=on}} tall Washington Monument from July 16 through the 20th from 9:30&nbsp;pm until 11:30&nbsp;pm (EDT). The program also included a 17-minute show that combined full-motion video projected on the Washington Monument to recreate the assembly and launch of the [[Engineering:Saturn V|Saturn V]] rocket. The projection was joined by a {{convert|40|ft|adj=on}} 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. 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://airandspace.si.edu/go-for-the-moon|title=Apollo 50 Go For the Moon|website=Smithsonian Air and Space Museum|access-date=July 21, 2019|archive-date=February 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211232234/https://airandspace.si.edu/go-for-the-moon|url-status=live}}</ref>

On July 19, 2019, the Google Doodle paid tribute to the Apollo 11 Moon Landing, complete with a link to an animated [[Company:YouTube|YouTube]] video with voiceover by astronaut Michael Collins.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.google.com/doodles/50th-anniversary-of-the-moon-landing |title=50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing |access-date=July 20, 2019 |archive-date=February 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225125124/http://www.google.com/doodles/50th-anniversary-of-the-moon-landing |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.space.com/apollo-11-google-doodle-michael-collins-video.html|title=Google (and Apollo 11's Michael Collins) Celebrate Moon Landing's 50th with EPIC Google Doodle|last1=Bartels|first1=Meghan|website=Space.com|date=July 19, 2019|access-date=September 7, 2019|archive-date=January 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125192340/https://www.space.com/apollo-11-google-doodle-michael-collins-video.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Aldrin, Collins, and Armstrong's sons were hosted by President Donald Trump in the Oval Office.<ref>{{cite news |first=Marcia |last=Dunn |title=Apollo 11 astronauts reunite on 50th anniversary of moonshot |work=ABC |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/trump-marks-apollo-11-anniversary-meeting-astronauts-64439860 |access-date=July 21, 2019|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720114320/https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/trump-marks-apollo-11-anniversary-meeting-astronauts-64439860|archive-date=July 20, 2019|date=July 19, 2019|agency=Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2019/07/19/Trump-Apollo-11-astronauts-discuss-merits-of-going-to-moon-before-Mars/2601563563187/|title=Trump, Apollo 11 astronauts discuss merits of going to moon before Mars|website=UPI|last1=Haynes|first1=Danielle|date=July 19, 2019|access-date=September 7, 2019|archive-date=February 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205041150/https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2019/07/19/Trump-Apollo-11-astronauts-discuss-merits-of-going-to-moon-before-Mars/2601563563187/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Films and documentaries ==
* ''Footprints on the Moon'', a 1969 documentary film by Bill Gibson and Barry Coe, about the Apollo 11 mission<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/35629847/pittsburgh_postgazette/|title=Moon Landing Film Coming to Theaters|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|location=Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|date=September 1, 1969|page=69|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=September 5, 2019|archive-date=September 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905080959/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/35629847/pittsburgh_postgazette/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''[[Astronomy:Moonwalk One|Moonwalk One]]'', a 1971 documentary film by Theo Kamecke<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/may/25/apollo-11-anniversary|title=The moon shoot: film of Apollo mission on show again after 35 years in the can|last1=Jones|first1=Sam|date=May 25, 2009|website=The Guardian|access-date=September 5, 2019|archive-date=July 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726063921/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/may/25/apollo-11-anniversary|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''Apollo 11: As It Happened'', a 1994 six-hour documentary on ABC News' coverage of the event<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/35947573/florida_today/|title=Space Specials at a Glance|newspaper=Florida Today|location=Cocoa, Florida|date=July 17, 1994|page=115|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=September 14, 2019|archive-date=September 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927033707/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/35947573/space-specials-at-a-glance-page-3/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''First Man'', 2018 film by Damien Chazelle based on the 2005 James R. Hansen book ''First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong''.
* ''Apollo 11'', a 2019 documentary film by Todd Douglas Miller with restored footage of the 1969 event<ref>{{cite news |last=Kenny |first=Glenn |title='Apollo 11' Review: The 1969 Moon Mission Still Has the Power to Thrill |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/27/movies/apollo-11-review.html |date=February 27, 2019 |newspaper={{wipe|The New York Times}} |access-date=February 28, 2019 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108003215/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/27/movies/apollo-11-review.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/2019/film/news/apollo-11-documentary-imax-release-1203138469/|title='Apollo 11' Documentary Gets Exclusive Imax Release|magazine=Variety|date=February 13, 2019|last1=Rubin|first1=Rebecca|access-date=July 20, 2019|archive-date=December 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201219103744/https://variety.com/2019/film/news/apollo-11-documentary-imax-release-1203138469/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''Chasing the Moon'', a July 2019 PBS three-night six-hour documentary, directed by Robert Stone, examined the events leading up to the Apollo 11 mission. An accompanying book of the same name was also released.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Foust |first1=Jeff |title=Review: Chasing the Moon |url=https://spacenews.com/review-chasing-the-moon/ |url-status=dead |website=Space News|access-date=July 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20190712021203/https://spacenews.com/review-chasing-the-moon/ |archive-date=July 12, 2019 |date=July 9, 2019 }}</ref>
* ''8 Days: To the Moon and Back'', a PBS and BBC Studios 2019 documentary film by Anthony Philipson re-enacting major portions of the Apollo 11 mission using mission audio recordings, new studio footage, NASA and news archives, and computer-generated imagery.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.space.com/pbs-8-days-moon-back-apollo-11.html|title='8 Days: To the Moon and Back' Shows Apollo 11 Milestones|last=Howell|first=Elizabeth|date=July 17, 2019|website=Space.com|access-date=July 20, 2019|archive-date=January 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126093152/https://www.space.com/pbs-8-days-moon-back-apollo-11.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
* {{annotated link|Astronomy:Apollo in Real Time}}
* {{annotated link|Astronomy:Exploration of the Moon}}
* {{annotated link|Astronomy:List of missions to the Moon}}
* List of species that have landed on the Moon

== References ==

=== Notes ===
{{Notelist}}

=== Citations ===
In some of the following sources, times are shown in the format ''hours:minutes:seconds'' (e.g. 109:24:15), referring to the mission's Ground Elapsed Time (GET),{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=iv}} based on the official launch time of July 16, 1969, 13:32:00 [[UTC]] (000:00:00 GET).<ref name="AP11FJ" /><ref name="Mission Overview" />

{{Reflist}}

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* {{cite book |last=Hansen |first=James R. |title=First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong |title-link=First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong |date=2005 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |isbn=978-0-7432-5631-5 |lccn=2005049992 |oclc=937302502 }}
* {{cite book |last=Harland |first=David |title=Exploring the Moon: The Apollo Expeditions |location=London; New York |publisher=Springer |date=1999 |isbn=978-1-85233-099-6 |oclc=982158259 }}
* {{cite book |editor-last1=Johnston |editor-first1=Richard S. |editor-last2=Dietlein |editor-first2=Lawrence F. |editor-last3=Berry |editor-first3=Charles A. |title=Biomedical Results of Apollo |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19760005580.pdf |date=1975 |volume=NASA-SP-368 |publisher=NASA |location=Washington, D.C. |id=SP-368 |access-date=November 2, 2019 |archive-date=November 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102181246/https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19760005580.pdf |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last=Kranz |first=Gene |title=Failure Is Not An Option |year=2000 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |isbn=978-0-7432-0079-0 |oclc=829406416 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780743200790 }}
* {{cite book |last=Logsdon |first=John M. |title=The Decision to Go to the Moon: Project Apollo and the National Interest |location=Chicago |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=1976 |oclc=849992795 }}
* {{cite book |last=Logsdon |first=John M. |title=John F. Kennedy and the Race to the Moon |location=Basingstoke |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2011 |isbn= 978-0-230-11010-6 |oclc=707157323 }}
* {{cite book |author=Mission Evaluation Team |title=Apollo 11 Mission Report |url=https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11MIssionReport_1971015566.pdf |access-date=July 10, 2013 |date=November 1969 |publisher=NASA Manned Spacecraft Center |location=Houston, Texas |oclc=10970862 |id=SP-238 |archive-date=September 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180904062754/https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11MIssionReport_1971015566.pdf |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |author=Marshall Space Flight Center |title=Technical Information Summary, Apollo-11 (AS-506) Apollo Saturn V Space Vehicle |date=June 1969 |publisher=NASA |location=Huntsville, Alabama |id=Document ID: 19700011707; Accession Number: 70N21012; Report Number: NASA-TM-X-62812; S&E-ASTR-S-101-69 |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19700011707.pdf |access-date=June 12, 2013 |archive-date=May 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200529192940/https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19700011707.pdf |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last=McCurdy |first=Howard E. |title=Space and the American Imagination |url=https://archive.org/details/spaceamericanima0000mccu |url-access=registration |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press |year=1997 |isbn=978-1-56098-764-2 |oclc=36186250 }}
* {{cite book |last=Mindell |first=David A. |title=Digital Apollo: Human and Machine in Spaceflight |date=2008 |publisher=MIT Press |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |isbn=978-0-262-13497-2 |lccn=2007032255 |oclc=751829782 }}
* {{cite book |last=Orloff |first=Richard W. |title=Apollo by the Numbers: A Statistical Reference |url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/SP-4029.htm |access-date=June 12, 2013 |series=NASA History Series |year=2000 |publisher=NASA History Division, Office of Policy and Plans |location=Washington, D.C. |isbn=978-0-16-050631-4 |lccn=00061677 |id=SP-2000-4029 |oclc=829406439 |archive-date=August 23, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070823124845/https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/SP-4029.htm |url-status=live }}
* {{cite journal |last=Sarkissian |first=John M. |title=On Eagle's Wings: The Parkes Observatory's Support of the Apollo 11 Mission |date=2001 |journal=Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=287–310 |doi=10.1071/AS01038 |access-date=May 24, 2013 |url=http://www.parkes.atnf.csiro.au/news_events/apollo11/tv_broadcasts.html |bibcode=2001PASA...18..287S |doi-access=free |archive-date=March 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323225519/https://www.parkes.atnf.csiro.au/news_events/apollo11/tv_broadcasts.html |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book|last1=Schefter|first1=James|title=The Race: The Uncensored Story of How America Beat Russia to the Moon|isbn=978-0-385-49253-9|date=July 1999|publisher=Doubleday|location=New York|url=https://archive.org/details/raceuncensored00sche}}
* {{cite book |last1=Slayton |first1=Donald K. "Deke" |last2=Cassutt |first2=Michael |author-link2=Michael Cassutt |title=Deke! U.S. Manned Space: From Mercury to the Shuttle |date=1994 |publisher=Forge |location=New York |isbn=978-0-312-85503-1 |oclc=29845663 |lccn=94002463 |url=https://archive.org/details/dekeusmannedspac00slay }}
* {{cite book |last1=Swenson |first1=Loyd S. Jr. |first2=James M. |last2=Grimwood |first3=Charles C. |last3=Alexander |title=This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury |url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4201/cover.htm |access-date=June 28, 2007 |series=The NASA History Series |year=1966 |publisher=National Aeronautics and Space Administration |location=Washington, D.C. |oclc=569889 |id=SP-4201 |archive-date=June 17, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100617075825/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4201/cover.htm |url-status=live }}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* [http://apollo11.spacelog.org/ "Apollo 11 transcripts"] at [https://web.archive.org/web/20101201070617/http://spacelog.org/ Spacelog]
* [https://apolloinrealtime.org/11/ Apollo 11 in real time]
* [https://texasarchive.org/2018_02104 Apollo 11 Press Conference filmed by KPRC-TV] at Texas Archive of the Moving Image
* [https://digitalcollections.museumofflight.org/collections/show/790 Apollo 11 and 13 Checklists] at The Museum of Flight Digital Collections.
* [https://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/mapcatalog/LPST/ap_11_12_14/ Apollo 11, 12, and 14 Traverses], at the Lunar and Planetary Institute

=== Multimedia ===
* {{cite web |url=http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/hd/apollo11_hdpage.html |title=Apollo 11 Partial Restoration HD Videos (Downloads) |editor-last=Garner |editor-first=Robert |publisher=NASA |access-date=June 13, 2013 |ref=none}} Remastered videos of the original landing.
* [http://lroc.sese.asu.edu/featured_sites/view_site/59?linkId=65507096 Dynamic timeline of lunar excursion]. Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera
* {{Internet Archive short film | gov.archives.arc.1257628 | Moonwalk One}}
* {{Internet Archive short film | gov.archives.arc.45017 | The Eagle Has Landed: The Flight of Apollo 11}}
* [https://vimeo.com/14275570 Apollo 11 Restored EVA Part 1] (1{{nbsp}}hour of restored footage)
* [https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/07/18/science/apollo-11-moon-landing-photos-ul.html Apollo 11: As They Photographed It (Augmented Reality)]—''{{wipe|The New York Times}}'', Interactive, July 18, 2019
* [http://www.radiotapes.com/specialpostings.html#Apollo11 "Coverage of the Flight of Apollo 11"] provided by Todd Kosovich for RadioTapes.com. Radio station recordings (airchecks) covering the flight of Apollo 11.

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[[Category:Apollo 11| ]]
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