196916–24 July 1969 · Mission Control, Johnson Space Center, Houston

Apollo 11 and the first Moon landing

Flight controllers wave flags at their consoles in Houston's Mission Control as Apollo 11 returns, July 1969 — Archival image: NASA. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Launched from Florida on a Saturn V rocket, Apollo 11 landed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Moon on 20 July 1969 while Michael Collins orbited above. Flight controllers in Houston guided the descent and were the first to hear 'The Eagle has landed.' Watched live by hundreds of millions, the mission settled the race to the Moon that Cold War rivalry with the Soviet Union had driven.

Sites

Site 1: Historic Apollo Mission Control Center, Johnson Space CenterRestored 1969 flight control room, seen from its viewing gallery on tram tours.Map ↗
Site 2: Space Center HoustonNASA visitor centre with Apollo artefacts; trams also run to a Saturn V in Rocket Park.Map ↗
Site 3: Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FloridaApollo 11's launch pad, now used by SpaceX, seen on Kennedy Space Center bus tours.Map ↗

Guides who take you there

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More from the Cold War

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