Splashdown!

The Command Module Columbia containing all three astronauts from Apollo 11 splashed down at 12:50 P.M. on July 24, 1969 thus successfully completing man's first trip to the Moon. The mission also fulfilled President Kennedy's promise made eight years earlier when he said before Congress that the United States "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."

We Did It!

News of the moon landing was carried by thousands of newspapers around the world on July 21, 1969. Most headlines were some variation of "Man Lands on Moon" or "Man Walks on Moon." The Macomb Daily, the local paper for Macomb County, Michigan features the unique headline of "We did it! We did it!" The words "moon" or "landing" are not mentioned. It wasn't until I watched the Google Doodle celebrating the 50th anniversary of the moon landing did the true meaning become readily apparent. Command Module pilot Micheal Collins stated that after the astronauts returned to Earth they went on a world tour. All the people they met, from all over the world, told them "We did it!" We most certainly did!

An original July 21, 1969 edition of The Macomb Daily proudly hangs in the Tranquility Base Arcade.

That's one small step for man.....

.....one giant leap for mankind.

"We came in peace for all mankind."

Tranquility Base Arcade calls.....

.....Tranquility Base!

The men of Apollo 11 first landed on the moon at 4:17 PM on July 20, 1969. 50 years later at exactly 4:17 PM I decided to use the NASA Phone located in the lounge at Tranquility Base Arcade to make a call. This is what I heard.

Tranquility Base here....

......the Eagle has landed.

Blast Off!

Fifty years ago today, July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 left for the moon. It is believed that one million spectators watched the launch in person from the various highways and beaches near the launch site. The launch was televised live in 33 countries with over 25 million viewers watching it in the United States alone. Four days later the Lunar Module “Eagle” carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, Jr. landed on the moon.