July 20
GIANT LEAP DAY
With “...one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” astronaut, Neil Armstrong, pilot of the lunar spacecraft, the Eagle, made the first footsteps on the surface of the moon at 10:56 p.m. EDT on this day in 1969. Which foot did Armstrong use to step on the grainy, grayish, lunar soil? His left.
So incredible were the TV images of Armstrong and (15 minutes) later, Buzz Aldrin, exploring the lunar surface, people around the world stopped and collectively held their breath. The words “Houston, Tranquillity Base here. The Eagle has landed...” gave instant impact to the drama of watching human beings reach something so far away so successfully. And all were able to breathe once again.
The American flag that was deployed along with other moon-landing memorabilia, some 50 items in all, still sits on the moon as abandoned space junk. While Armstrong and Aldrin cavorted on the moon, astronaut Michael Collins piloted the Apollo 11 command ship, Columbia, above the moon’s surface.
The world again stopped -- in anticipation of the fragile lunar module lifting off from the moon and rejoining the command ship -- reuniting the three astronauts for a most historic trip home to planet Earth.
Those Were the Days, the Today in History service from 440 International
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