One small step ...

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Friday, July 20, 2012

July 20th 1969, the day when Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. it is the 43th anniversary of that historic event. Here's a look back at the giant leap for mankind: • Apollo XI had a crew of three: Mission commander Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin. • They blasted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 9:32am, Wednesday, July 16, 1969. Apollo XI reached the moon's orbit on Sunday, July 20. Aldrin and Armstrong then transferred into a lunar module for the final leg of the journey, and touched down on the moon at 4:18pm July 20. • Aldrin piloted the lunar module, which had just 40 seconds of fuel left when they landed. • Armstrong set foot on the surface more than six hours later, at 10:56pm. • The crew returned to Earth four days later, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean southwest of Hawaii at 12:50pm, July 24. The last trip to the moon was on Apollo XVII in 1972. • Armstrong uttered these now-immortal words after he made history: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." Communication was lost in the split second between "for" and "man," which is why many people think he said, "One small step for man."