The internet and the entire world is abuzz with celebratory stories, images, and snippets of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing, which turns 50 this weekend.
Happy 50th, Apollo 11
On July 20, 1969, NASA astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, and Michael Collins made the unforgettable "small step for [a] man" and "giant leap for mankind" when they set foot and walked on the Moon's surface. The three, together with their crew, journeyed for nine days to the moon and back to Earth as part of the successful Apollo 11 mission.
It was Aldrin and Armstrong that unveiled the commemorative plaque that was mounted on the landing leg of the Eagle lunar module and read the words that were inscribed on it:
"Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon, July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind."
The plaque also bore the signatures of the Apollo 11 astronauts as well as of then-President Richard M. Nixon.
President Donald Trump also met with Aldrin, Collins, and the family of Armstrong at a special even in the Oval Office and briefed them on his administration's upcoming plans to send astronauts back to the Moon and Mars.
NASA Celebrates To The Hilt
NASA has been on board for the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing. As part of the celebration, it released stunning panorama images of Apollo lunar landing sites on the moon that were stitched together by experts from the Johnson Space Center.
On the day of the launch anniversary, Apollo 11 astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins reunited at the historic launch pad where Apollo 11 began its mission. Aldrin was also honored by the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. NASA hosted a live broadcast to discuss the future of space exploration from Moon to Mars.
Making Of Apollo 11 Documentary
Director Todd Douglas Miller's documentary titled Apollo 11 presented untold stories from the once-in-a-lifetime space mission. He used available archival footages with support from NASA and the National Archives. His work resulted in never-before-seen bits of footage that depicted what the astronauts actually went through during the mission.
"There is a nine-day version of this film, where every single frame of footage is made up of either a film reel or a television broadcast or the broadcast from space that the guys did or a photograph. We had the timeline all laid out exactly how it happened," said Miller who found more than 1,000 images that Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins snapped on their journey to the moon.
The documentary has two versions — a minute-by-minute account of the nine-day mission and a shorter 93-minute film.
