Tomorrow will mark the 45th anniversary of the July 16, 1969
launch of Apollo 11, the NASA mission that first landed human beings on
the Moon. Years of effort, dangerous experiments, and bold missions led
up to the Moon landing, an event watched on live television by millions
around the world. Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin
"Buzz" E. Aldrin left the Earth on a Wednesday, landed on the Moon on
that Sunday, spent a bit more than two hours walking on its surface,
deploying experiments and collecting samples, then splashed down safely
in the Pacific Ocean the following Thursday, after 8 days off-planet.
Collected here are 45 images of that historic mission, a "giant leap for
mankind," 45 years ago. [45 photos]
