Apollo 11 Buzz Aldrin on myfoxdc

Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. spoke with FOX 5 News about his memories of Apollo 11 and about the 40th Anniversary of the launch.

LISTEN to Audio of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing
http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/apollo11_landing/

The Apollo Missions | nasa.gov

Forty years ago, men from Earth began for the first time to leave our home planet and journey to the moon.

From 1968 to 1972, NASA's Apollo astronauts tested out new spacecraft and journeyed to uncharted destinations.

It all started on May 25, 1961, when President John F. Kennedy announced the goal of sending astronauts to the moon before the end of the decade. Coming just three weeks after Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space, Kennedy's bold challenge set the nation on a journey unlike any before in human history.

Eight years of hard work by thousands of Americans came to fruition on July 20, 1969, when Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong stepped out of the lunar module and took "one small step" in the Sea of Tranquility, calling it "a giant leap for mankind."

Six of the missions -- Apollos 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17 -- went on to land on the moon, studying soil mechanics, meteoroids, seismic, heat flow, lunar ranging, magnetic fields and solar wind. Apollos 7 and 9 tested spacecraft in Earth orbit; Apollo 10 orbited the moon as the dress rehearsal for the first landing. An oxygen tank explosion forced Apollo 13 to scrub its landing, but the "can-do" problem solving of the crew and mission control turned the mission into a "successful failure."

Apollo 11 (wikipedia)

The Apollo 11 mission was the first manned mission to land on the Moon. It was the fifth human spaceflight of Project Apollo and the third human voyage to the Moon. Launched on July 16, 1969, it carried Mission Commander Neil Alden Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr. On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon, while Collins orbited above.

The mission fulfilled President John F. Kennedy's goal of reaching the moon by the end of the 1960s, which he expressed during a speech given before a joint session of Congress on May 25, 1961:[2]

"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth."

Links:

Apollo 11 40th Anniversary: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
http://www.nasm.si.edu/

NASA - The Apollo Missions
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/index.html

NASA - Apollo 40th Anniversary
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/40th/index.html

We Choose The Moon | Recreation of the Apollo 11 Mission
http://wechoosethemoon.org/

Google Moon
http://www.google.com/moon/

Countdown to the Moon Day!
http://www.nasm.si.edu/events/apollo11/moonday/

#478 - Neil Armstrong Check - RR Auction
http://rrauction.com/bidtracker_detail.cfm?IN=478

AlanBean.com
http://www.alanbean.com/index.cfm

The Alan Bean Gallery
http://www.alanbeangallery.com/

Gallery 1
http://www.alanbean.com/gallery1.cfm?id=2008-Skiing-the-Mountains-of-the-Moon

Gallery 2
http://www.alanbean.com/gallery2.cfm?id=2006-Is-Anyone-Out-There

Gallery 3
http://www.alanbean.com/gallery3.cfm?id=1990-Heavenly-Reflections

Gallery 4
http://www.alanbean.com/gallery4.cfm?id=1985-Helping-Hands

Gallery 5
http://www.alanbean.com/gallery5.cfm?id=1984-Moonrock-Earthbound