It might be difficult today to imagine the size of the challenge that President Kennedy set for the nation on Sept. 12, 1962, when in a speech at Rice University in Houston he elaborated on his goal to land astronauts on the moon before the end of that decade. The space program was in its infancy, much of the technology didn't exist, and such a mission had never been accomplished before.
“We meet in an hour of change and challenge, in a decade of hope and fear, in an age of both knowledge and ignorance,” Kennedy said.
But on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong beat Kennedy's deadline and became the first person to step foot on the moon, as shown in the photos below.
Fifty years and several iterations of the American space program later, Kennedy's call to land humans on the moon can still resonate.
Apollo 11 astronauts stand next to their spacecraft in 1969. From left to right: Col. Buzz Aldrin, lunar module pilot; Neil Armstrong, flight commander; and Lt. Michael Collins, command module pilot. (AP Photo)
Former astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, and Neil Armstrong stand in the Oval Office in 2009 on the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
With Armstrong waving, the Apollo 11 crew heads for the van that took them to the rocket for launch at Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969. (AP Photo)
Jan Aldrin, 11, and her brothers, Andrew, 10, and Mike, 13, give the thumbs up gesture after the successful launch of Apollo 11, which is carrying their dad and fellow astronauts Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins on their journey to the moon. The children came outside after watching the blastoff at their home near the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston. (AP Photo)
Wives of the three Apollo 11 astronauts make a joint appearance on July 18, 1969, at one of their homes near the Space Center in Houston as their husbands continued the historical flight to the moon. (AP Photo)
Armstrong walks slowly away from the lunar module moments after taking his first step on the moon. (AP Photo)
Mission Control personnel in Houston watch the moon walk on July 21, 1969. (AP Photo/NASA)
A crowd in Central Park, N.Y., watches as the Apollo 11 crew lands on the moon on July 20, 1969. (AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler)
This photo from NASA TV shows one of the Apollo 11 astronauts on the lunar surface after landing; the picture is from a new digitally refurbished version of the original moon landing video. (AP Photo/NASA TV)
Aldrin walks by the footpad of the Apollo 11 lunar module. (AP Photo/NASA)
This photograph of Armstrong was taken inside the lunar module while it rested on the moon's surface on July 20. (AP Photo/NASA)
Aldrin walks on the moon with seismographic equipment that he had just set up. The flag-like object on a pole is a solar-wind experiment; in the background is the lunar landing module. (AP Photo/NASA/Neil Armstrong)
The reentry of Apollo 11 into the Earth's atmosphere on July 24. (AP Photo)
U.S. Navy personnel, wearing protective gear, recover the Apollo 11 crew from the reentry vehicle, which landed safely in the Pacific Ocean on July 24, 1969, after an eight-day mission. (AP Photo)
Armstrong cuts his birthday cake while members of the lunar-receiving laboratory look on, on Aug. 6, 1969, in Houston. Armstrong celebrated his 39th birthday while in quarantine with his fellow astronauts after returning from the moon. (AP Photo/NASA TV)
Armstrong (right) is shown with his family the night after his arrival at his parents' home on Sept. 5, 1969, in Wapakoneta, Ohio. It was his first trip home since his historic walk on the moon. With him (from left) are Stephen Armstrong, Armstrong's father; his wife, Janet; his mother; and two children, Mark, 6, and Eric, 12. (AP Photo/JP)
Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins waves with one hand as a spectator tugs at another during Collins's welcoming parade down Canal Street in New Orleans on Sept. 6, 1969. Collins, the Apollo 11 pilot, claimed New Orleans as his adopted home. (AP Photo)
Confetti rains down on the Apollo 11 astronauts as they are greeted by people during a parade in Tokyo on Nov. 4, 1969. The Japan visit was the tail-end of a 22-nation goodwill tour by the Apollo 11 crew members. /p> (AP Photo)
Get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox. Sign up for National Journal's morning alert, Wake-Up Call, and afternoon newsletter, The Edge. Subscribe here.
Leave A Comment