Apollo 11 Mission's 45th Anniversary Reminds Us To Never Stop Taking Small Steps | HuffPost

NASA To Celebrate 45th Anniversary Of First Moonwalk

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Forty-five years ago, on July 20, 1969, crew members of Apollo 11 made history when they walked on the moon.

"That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind," U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong uttered as he became the first human to set foot on the surface of the moon at 10:56 p.m. EDT. Buzz Aldrin followed shortly thereafter and became the second man to walk on the lunar surface.

The pair, two of the three members of the Apollo 11 crew, spent the next two hours exploring completely uncharted territory.

Decades later, they are still among only a handful of people who have ever touched down on the moon. Humankind has not visited the moon since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

(Story continues below.)

One of the few photographs of Neil Armstrong on the moon shows him working on his spacecraft on the lunar surface.

Astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. walks on the surface of the moon, with seismographic equipment that he just set up.

In honor of Apollo 11's 45th anniversary, the Slooh Space Camera will broadcast live footage from the lunar surface on Sunday, starting at 8:30 p.m. EDT. A panel of experts, including Slooh host Geoff Fox and astronomer Bob Berman, will be online to discuss mission details and share some anecdotes they've heard from the crew.

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station are also toasting Apollo 11 pioneers Armstrong, Aldrin and the third crew member, Michael Collins, for their successful mission.

"[W]e'd like to salute the Apollo 11 crew," U.S. astronaut Reid Wiseman said in a video produced to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the launch. "Forty-five years ago, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins embarked on humanity's boldest journey. Apollo 11 not only achieved its mission to perform a manned lunar landing and return safely to Earth, it raised the bar of human potential."

Watch Slooh's live broadcast on July 20 in the video, below.

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Before You Go

Apollo 11 Mission Photos

Training(01 of30)

The Apollo 11 crew relaxes during training on May 24, 1969. (credit:NASA History Office and the NASA JSC Media Services Center)

Press Conference(02 of30)

The space crew of the Apollo 11 mission sits in front of cameras answering journalists questions during the night before the liftoff at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on July 16, 1969. (credit:NASA/AFP/Getty)

Before Liftoff(03 of30)

Apollo 11 Saturn V on launch pad 39A. (credit:NASA History Office and the NASA JSC Media Services Center.)

Blastoff!(04 of30)

Apollo 11 lifts off from launch tower camera on July 16, 1969. (credit:NASA History Office and the NASA JSC Media Services Center)

Blastoff!(05 of30)

Moonbound Apollo 11 clears the launch tower. (credit:NASA History Office and the NASA JSC Media Services Center)

Agnew And LBJ(06 of30)

US Vice-President Spiro Agnew and former US President Lyndon B. Johnson are seen in a crowd watching the liftoff of the Apollo 11 mission at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on July 16, 1969. (credit:NASA/AFP/Getty)

In Flight(07 of30)

Lunar module pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin. (credit:NASA History Office and the NASA JSC Media Services Center)

Lunar Orbit(08 of30)

Earthrise viewed from lunar orbit prior to landing. (credit:NASA History Office and the NASA JSC Media Services Center)

Lunar Orbit(09 of30)

Crater 308 viewed from orbit. (credit:NASA History Office and the NASA JSC Media Services Center)

Descent(10 of30)

Flight controllers during lunar module descent. (credit:NASA History Office and the NASA JSC Media Services Center)

Exiting Lunar Module(11 of30)

Buzz Aldrin exits the lunar module. (credit:NASA History Office and the NASA JSC Media Services Center)

Exiting Lunar Module(12 of30)

Aldrin on the lunar module footpad. (credit:NASA History Office and the NASA JSC Media Services Center)

Lunar Module Plaque(13 of30)

"Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon July 1969, A.D. We came in peace for all mankind." (credit:NASA History Office and the NASA JSC Media Services Center)

On The Moon(14 of30)

Aldrin stands beside the lunar module strut. (credit:NASA History Office and the NASA JSC Media Services Center)

On The Moon(15 of30)

Aldrin poses for portrait. (credit:NASA History Office and the NASA JSC Media Services Center)

On The Moon(16 of30)

Aldrin poses next to the U.S. flag on the moon. (credit:NASA)

Footprint(17 of30)

Aldrin's boot and footprint in lunar soil. (credit:NASA History Office and the NASA JSC Media Services Center)

Footprint(18 of30)

Aldrin photographed this footprint in the lunar soil as part of an experiment to study the nature of lunar dust and the effects of pressure on the surface. (credit:NASA)

On The Moon(19 of30)

Aldrin carries experiments for deployment. (credit:NASA History Office and the NASA JSC Media Services Center)

On The Moon(20 of30)

Aldrin assembles seismic experiment (credit:NASA History Office and the NASA JSC Media Services Center)

On The Moon(21 of30)

Neil Armstrong works at the lunar module. (credit:NASA History Office and the NASA JSC Media Services Center)

Taking A Photo(22 of30)

Armstrong photo of lunar module from a distance. (credit:NASA History Office and the NASA JSC Media Services Center)

Celebration(23 of30)

Neil Armstrong in the lunar module after his historic moonwalk. (credit:NASA)

Flag From Lunar Module(24 of30)

Flag and TV camera viewed from the lunar module window. (credit:NASA History Office and the NASA JSC Media Services Center)

In-Flight Demonstration(25 of30)

Aldrin performs for his Earth-bound television audience, in this color reproduction taken from a TV transmission, from the Apollo 11 spacecraft during its trans-Earth journey home from the moon. Aldrin illustrates how to make a sandwich under zero-gravity conditions. When this picture was made, Apollo 11 was approximately 137,000 nautical miles from Earth, (credit:NASA)

Earth(26 of30)

Closeup of Earth during return trip. (credit:NASA History Office and the NASA JSC Media Services Center)

Splashdown(27 of30)

Mission Control celebrates after splashdown, July 24, 1969. (credit:NASA History Office and the NASA JSC Media Services Center)

Return Home(28 of30)

The Apollo 11 crew await pickup by a helicopter from the USS Hornet, prime recovery ship for the historic lunar landing mission. The Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia splashed down at 11:49 a.m. CDT, July 24, 1969, about 812 nautical miles southwest of Hawaii and only 12 nautical miles from the USS Hornet. (credit:NASA)

In Quarantine(29 of30)

Apollo 11 astronauts, still in their quarantine van, are greeted by their wives upon arrival at Ellington Air Force Base onJuly 27, 1969. (credit:NASA History Office and the NASA JSC Media Services Center)

40th Anniversary(30 of30)

These NASA handout images show at top the Apollo 11 lunar landing astronaut crew from left: Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. 'Buzz' Aldrin Jr. At bottom from left are Edwin E. 'Buzz' Aldrin, Michael Collins, Neil Armstrong on the eve of the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11's first human landing on the Moon at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, on July 19, 2009. (credit:AFP/Getty Images)

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