"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Famously said by Neil Armstrong as he took
his first step on the moon. On July 20, 1969, American astronauts Neil Armstrong (1930-2012) and Edwin
"Buzz" Aldrin (1930-) became the first humans ever to land on the moon.
About six-and-a-half hours later, Armstrong became the first person to wa lk on the moon. Armstrong
and Aldrin together explored the surface during a moonwalk that lasted 2 hours and 36 minutes. They collected
48.5 pounds (22 kilograms) of material from the surface — including 50 moon rocks — as well as deploying
experiments, planting the U.S. flag and taking a moment to speak with the U.S. president at the time, Richard
Nixon.
To summarize, the moon landing was and continues to be a monumental event and watershed moment in history.
We would probably still regard landing on the moon as an almost impossible task for our country if Americans
had not done so. We would not have most of the technology we have today if we had not developed new
technology for use by astronauts during the moon landing. Without the moon landing, the Soviet Union would
have been the first country to land a human on the moon and would have won the Space Race. The moon landing
affected not only the people of the 1960s and 1970s, but it also has long-term consequences for our country today.
Life would have been very different if we had not landed on the moon. The moon landing was a historic event
that changed history and will be remembered for the rest of time.