Apollo 11 moon landing 56th anniversary: A timeline of humanity's first steps on the lunar surface

By A.S. Ganesh

"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." — U.S. President John F. Kennedy, May 25, 1961

Setting foot on the moon marked the fulfilment of a desire that had likely existed ever since human beings first looked up at Earth's natural satellite. The success of the Apollo 11 mission in July 1969 — a little over five months before the end of the 1960s — also meant that Kennedy's target was achieved.

On this Space Exploration Day, here are snapshots from the week that saw Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the moon.

July 16, 1969: Lift-off

13:32:00 UTC | 9:32 am ET

The Apollo 11 spacecraft — with Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, and Michael Collins aboard — blasted off from Cape Kennedy on a Wednesday morning. Though it was the middle of the week, a million spectators gathered in attendance, including Vice President Spiro Agnew and former President Lyndon Johnson. Countless others around the world followed all the updates. There was a carnival atmosphere, but everyone knew the real drama was still days away.

July 20, 1969: Undocking

17:44 UTC | 1:44 pm ET

Three days after lift-off, the crew was in lunar orbit. One day later, Armstrong and Aldrin entered the Lunar Module (LM) called Eagle, while Collins continued orbiting in the Command Module (CM) called Columbia, photographing the lunar surface and serving as a communications link.

At the time noted above, the LM undocked from the CM. The descent to the moon's surface began soon after.

July 20, 1969: Landing

20:17 UTC | 4:17 pm ET

"Houston, Tranquillity Base here. The Eagle has landed." — Neil Armstrong's first words after the LM touched down.

"I'd like to take this opportunity to ask every person listening in, whoever and wherever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours, and to give thanks in his or her own way." — Buzz Aldrin, after landing.

July 20, 1969: Human Landing Begins

10:51 pm ET | July 21, 1969, 2:51 UTC

In the 6.5 hours between landing and a human setting foot on the moon, Armstrong and Aldrin conducted a detailed check of Eagle to ensure that lift-off from the moon would proceed without incident.

July 20, 1969: Human Sets Foot on Moon

10:56 pm ET | July 21, 1969, 2:56 UTC

At 10:51 pm ET, Armstrong began his descent from the LM. He started speaking while at the foot of the ladder and finished with: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," syncing the words with the moment he set foot on the moon.

Aldrin joined Armstrong on the moon 19 minutes later. The duo performed their prepared tasks, including collecting samples.

July 21, 1969: Ascent from the Lunar Surface

17:54 UTC | 1:54 pm ET

Armstrong and Aldrin spent a total of 21 hours and 36 minutes on the moon's surface, with the entire extravehicular activity phase lasting over two hours.