MBOMBELA – Today marks an unforgettable occurrence – one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
On July 20, 1969 at around 20:20 Central American Time, the Apollo 11 spacecraft landed on our closest cosmic relative – the moon. It launched from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida and took approximately four days to reach the moon.
Six hours later, at around 03:00 on July 21, two men were the first of our species to set foot on it.
Neil Armstrong was the first to step out of the shuttle and famously dubbed this feat as “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”.
Buzz Aldrin followed a few minutes later.
The two spent a total of six hours “walking” on the moon. The spacecraft spent more than 21 hours on it before embarking on its return mission to Earth.
It landed in the Pacific Ocean on July 24, with both occupants safe and sound after their two-week “holiday” to the moon.
Today, Aldrin is devoted to sending a person to Mars with his space exploration campaign, Mission to Mars.
Armstrong passed away in 2012, shortly after his 82nd birthday.
