| − | On July 20, 1969 the '''Apollo 11''' spacecraft landed on the moon, and soon after, [[Neil Armstrong]] became the first man to set foot on the moon, when he stepped off the Lunar Module Eagle onto the moon's surface, saying: "''That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.''" | + | On July 20, 1969 the '''Apollo 11''' spacecraft landed on the moon, and soon after, [[Neil Armstrong]] became the first man to set foot on the moon, when he stepped off the Lunar Module Eagle onto the moon's surface, saying: "''That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.''"<ref>Whether or not he said the word "a" is disputed. See [http://www.snopes.com/quotes/onesmall.asp One Small Misstep], Snopes urban legend site. A video clip and sound recording are available at [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a11/a11v_1092338.mpg NASA]. Armstrong certainly ''intended'' to say "one small step for a man." Whether or not he actually said it is disputed. At the time, many listeners heard him to have said "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," and many newspapers reported it that way. A slight pause has been interpreted by some as the missing word obscured by transmission problems, though others have surmised that it was him realizing his mistake. There are small amounts of noise in the transmission. In September 2006 an audio analyst claimed to have found the missing "a" but this, too is disputed.</ref> |
| | The crew of Apollo 11 consisted of 3 astronauts: Commander [[Neil Armstrong]], [[Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr.]], and [[Michael Collins]]. Buzz Aldrin was second on the moon, while Astronaut Collins orbited the moon in the Apollo Command Module. The two astronauts initiated a live videotaping to be seen on earth and placed a [[United States]] flag on the surface, and a commemorative plaque which read: ''"Here men from the planet earth first set foot on the moon July 1969, A.D. We came in peace for all mankind."'' They then spent time gathering samples of rocks and soil to bring back to Earth. | | The crew of Apollo 11 consisted of 3 astronauts: Commander [[Neil Armstrong]], [[Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr.]], and [[Michael Collins]]. Buzz Aldrin was second on the moon, while Astronaut Collins orbited the moon in the Apollo Command Module. The two astronauts initiated a live videotaping to be seen on earth and placed a [[United States]] flag on the surface, and a commemorative plaque which read: ''"Here men from the planet earth first set foot on the moon July 1969, A.D. We came in peace for all mankind."'' They then spent time gathering samples of rocks and soil to bring back to Earth. |