On July 16^th1969, millions of people around the world watched the launch of Apollo 11 from the Saturn V rocket on television. It was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in the USA, carrying three astronauts called Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.

Soon after leaving Earth, the Command and Service Modules separated from the Saturn V rocket. On July 20^th,1969, the Lunar Module landed safely on the Moon. At 4:18 p.m. that day, Neil Armstrong’s voice crackled from the speakers at NASA’s Mission Control in Houston.

He said:

“The Eagle has landed.”

Armstrong and Aldrin became the first humans to land on the Moon successfully, while Collins stayed in orbit around the Moon. Armstrong’s first words as he walked on the Moon’s surface were:

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

For the next two and a half hours, Aldrin and Armstrong took notes, photographs and drilled core samples. They collected Lunar rocks and dust. An American flag was set up and photographed on the Moon.

President John F. Kennedy’s dream had come true. The Saturn V rocket had successfully launched the American mission to land man safely on the Moon. The USA had won the Space Race.