Revisiting the Apollo 11 Moon landing 45 years later
Today marks the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission where Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins made their trip to the Moon. Sure, you could say that there's likely more tech in our pockets than what was used to allow those three to meet their lunar destiny. For whatever reason, though, powering up an Android device or an iPhone isn't nearly as impressive as the fact that we shot humans into outer space and that they walked on the nearest hard surface. Join us as we celebrate that monumental event in the gallery below. For even more, be sure to check out the recent Reddit Ask Me Anything session with Aldrin. Spoiler: he thinks that Gravity is the best depiction of astronauts in zero-G he's ever seen.
![<p>The crew of mission Apollo 11; from left to right: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin. Collins looks most displeased about the fact that he in fact won't be walking on the moon. </p>
<p>[Image credit: NASA]</p>](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/hKUo3yEQ6yd1Tnwyw_D.cg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTgwMw--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/Bg95IJMCdquB49p8FoA5kg--~B/aD02Njk7dz04MDA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/278/547/2/S2785472/slug/l/apollo-11-crew-1.jpg)
![<p>This Saturn V rocket that carried our intrepid crew to the Moon's surface from Cape Canaveral (then called Cape Kennedy) in Florida. Measured from the ground up, it was 363 feet tall -- 58 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty and 48 feet taller than Big Ben. </p>
<p>[Image credit: NASA]</p>](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/MUOmli2s7OaAzUGY1k7h2w--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTc5Ng--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/7m_noSNFHdZtVk0elhCpDg--~B/aD02NjM7dz04MDA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/278/547/5/S2785475/slug/l/apollo-11-launchpad-1.jpg)
![<p>We have lift-off! At the time, the Saturn V rocket was said to have been the biggest, heaviest and most powerful rocket ever built weighing in at 6.5 million pounds and capable of delivering 260,000 pounds to Low Earth Orbit -- roughly 17 full-grown male elephants.</p>
<p>[Image credit: NASA]</p>](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/CTa.ikunmFfiSZb_dTqyGA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTYzMg--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/tk8g_YCIIKX6fUIxsOMJxQ--~B/aD01Mjc7dz04MDA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/278/547/8/S2785478/slug/l/apollo-11-take-off-pano-1.jpg)
![<p>Beautiful, isn't she? This photo of the Earth was (obviously) taken from orbit once the Saturn V cleared Earth's atmosphere. </p>
<p>[Image credit: NASA]</p>](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/_R3vh6CUlFdkrQs3_5.MBQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTk2Nw--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/LLZb0owwM4adjbockzVb2w--~B/aD04MDY7dz04MDA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/278/547/6/S2785476/slug/l/apollo-11-view-from-orbit-1.jpg)
![<p>It isn't often that you can look to the sky and cover our home-world with your thumb, but the crew of Apollo 11 was able to do just that. Fun fact: a side mission in the first <em>Mass Effect </em>game takes place on our moon and you can (virtually) get this view for yourself whenever you'd like. </p>
<p>[Image credit: NASA]</p>](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/ESkbjc9NqcMb0SKTIUc_Ig--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTk1NQ--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/wPBSCwHHrEJz3d8JV3_onQ--~B/aD03OTY7dz04MDA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/278/547/3/S2785473/slug/l/apollo-11-earthrise-1.jpg)
![<p>The spidery guy you're looking at here is the <em>Eagle</em> lunar lander, the first manned vehicle to land on the Moon's surface. That it only had room for two is likely why astronaut Collins had such a long face in his crew photo.</p>
<p>[Image credit: NASA]</p>](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/TCSwpKAsDaicCCwmWDFxag--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTk1NQ--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/6yf5_gbRf.kK1jYKMOPYqw--~B/aD03OTY7dz04MDA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/278/547/7/S2785477/slug/l/apollo-11-lunar-module-1.jpg)
![<p>Buzz Aldrin wasn't the first man on the moon, but his footsteps are perhaps the most iconic. In a recent <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2a5vg8/i_am_buzz_aldrin_engineer_american_astronaut_and/">Ask Me Anything on <em>Reddit</em></a>, Aldrin says that symbolically it made sense for Armstrong to make the first steps considering that he'd been a part of previous missions. He thinks what happened after he and Armstrong were both on the lunar surface however, could have been handled a little differently.</p>
<p>[Image credit: NASA]</p>](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/vZOiCFO9rFDzoRtZIrBeRA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTk3MA--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/7bHfnB99I9hWGqavesXzlg--~B/aD04MDg7dz04MDA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/278/548/8/S2785488/slug/l/aldrin-boot-bootprint-1.jpg)
![<p>Aldrin says that the best way he can describe being on the Moon's surface is "magnificent desolation." He notes that there's no place on Earth like it; a place that's remained untouched for eons, surrounded by silent, black sky with no sign of life whatsoever.</p>
<p>[Image credit: NASA]</p>](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/UI4pleunfHwJtcoo5.IzuQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTk2Ng--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/7edZLYl1caWNBX4jDtaMtQ--~B/aD04MDU7dz04MDA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/278/546/7/S2785467/slug/l/apollo-11-aldrin-lead-1.jpg)
![<p>Of the several lunar experiments carried out by the Apollo 11 crew, one was testing for seismic activity. </p>
<p>[Image credit: NASA]</p>](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/MSV8oN8GK1k8RmQKx.veFg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTk3MA--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/.FDiH_u5jH5_a6eD9VI_1A--~B/aD04MDg7dz04MDA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/278/546/8/S2785468/slug/l/apollo-11-aldrin-seismograph-1.jpg)
![<p>Another was testing if solar wind was anything like wind back on Earth.</p>
<p>[Image credit: NASA]</p>](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/fQmFDgTh.duTaYH2uTQh7w--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTk2OA--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/_H6ypjM.OE1MkT2h42f_vw--~B/aD04MDc7dz04MDA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/278/546/9/S2785469/slug/l/apollo-11-aldrin-solar-wind-1.jpg)
![<p>Aldrin says that upon lift-off, the jets from <em>Eagle</em> knocked the flags over and he presumes that any radiation from space likely has since deteriorated the stars' and stripes' material. </p>
<p>[Image credit: NASA]</p>](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/TxIVDxByAvmphqYwjxW4Ug--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTk3MA--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/sa9MPqjnd1eWlJjof4h9QQ--~B/aD04MDg7dz04MDA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/278/547/4/S2785474/slug/l/apollo-11-landing-wide-lede-1.jpg)
![<p>Had you just walked on the Moon we'd imagine that it'd be damn near impossible to wipe the smile off of your face too. </p>
<p>[Image credit: NASA]</p>](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/BQTOmdxzaYYJtk.3o1MVow--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTk3Nw--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/J4masfPYjSjW1AgFeTmDGA--~B/aD04MTQ7dz04MDA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/278/547/9/S2785479/slug/l/aldrin-post-walk-1.jpg)
![<p>The crew from Apollo 11 touched back down on Earth in the Pacific Ocean some four days after the historic moonwalk and were greeted by a hazmat-suit clad welcoming committee. Why the precautions? Well, it's anyone's guess what type of contaminants or microscopic ETs Armstrong and co. could have brought back and it's better to err on the safe side.</p>
<p>[Image credit: NASA]</p>](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/AdLEYIXFsM5VeHq_eaAFJQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTc2MA--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/IYh1c7MI1F21bYZYdoKGYw--~B/aD02MzM7dz04MDA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/278/548/0/S2785480/slug/l/apollo-11-splashdown-1.jpg)
![<p>Who says cigars have to be reserved for births? The clean-cut team back at Mission Control celebrates our first successful moon landing.</p>
<p>[Image credit: NASA]</p>](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/YtvNrf29WcKr_BEK8UxCOw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0Mg--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/85YcOpmFU333SM2vlVXjbA--~B/aD01MzU7dz04MDA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/278/548/1/S2785481/slug/l/apollo-11-mc-1.jpg)
![<p>Just because Aldrin, Armstrong and Collins were back on Earth didn't mean that they could mingle with the general public just yet. The trio had to spend time in a specially designed isolation trailer for three weeks until it was cleared to be free on any possible lunar contaminants. What's more, <a href="http://www.space.com/7044-moon-apollo-astronauts-customs.html"><em>Space</em> reports</a> that the crew even had to go through customs and declare the moon rocks and moon dust it'd brought back as cargo. Naturally.</p>
<p>[Image credit: NASA]</p>](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/yL9LFNNzPSrFRk6nhAYDmw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY3Mg--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/4_kpFai8MtEJ.P9dicg2hg--~B/aD01NjA7dz04MDA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/278/547/1/S2785471/slug/l/apollo-11-crew-relax-isolation-van-1.jpg)
![<p>While the Apollo 11 mission itself only lasted eight days, its legacy is immortal. This ticker-tape parade in New York City on August 13th, 1969 was only the beginning of the journey Aldrin, Armstrong and Collins made after landing back on Earth.</p>
<p>[Image credit: NASA]</p>](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/DAsUHakbu4Wx6Bep5ZlulQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY3NA--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/8MvxejYkV0cIlvfCL3LaOQ--~B/aD01NjI7dz04MDA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/278/548/2/S2785482/slug/l/apollo-11-ticker-tape-1.jpg)
[Image credit: NASA]
