Apollo 11 was an American spaceflight mission, the first to land astronauts on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin set the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle down on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC. Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface six hours later on July 21 at 02:56 UTC; Aldrin (pictured) joined him 19 minutes later. They spent about two and a quarter hours together outside the spacecraft, and collected 47.5 pounds (21.5 kg) of lunar material to bring back to Earth. While they were on the Moon's surface, Michael Collins flew the command module Columbia alone in lunar orbit. Armstrong's first step onto the lunar surface was broadcast on live TV to a worldwide audience. He described the event as "one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind". Armstrong and Aldrin spent 21.5 hours on the lunar surface before rejoining Columbia in lunar orbit. The astronauts returned to Earth and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1807: French brothers Claude and Nicéphore Niépce received a patent for their Pyréolophore, one of the world's first internal combustion engines. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyr%C3%A9olophore> 1968: The first games of the Special Olympics, for athletes with intellectual disabilities, were held at Soldier Field in Chicago. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Olympics> 1999: The Chinese Communist Party launched a persecution campaign against the Falun Gong spiritual movement, beginning the arrests of thousands of practitioners nationwide. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Falun_Gong> 2015: A suicide attack in Suruç, Turkey, for which ISIL claimed responsibility, killed 34 people and injured 104 others. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suru%C3%A7_bombing> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: lunar: 1. Of, pertaining to, or resembling the Moon (that is, Luna, the Earth's moon); Lunar. 2. Shaped like a crescent moon; lunate. 3. (chiefly historical) (Believed to be) influenced by the Moon, as in character, growth, or properties. 4. (alchemy, chemistry, historical) Of or pertaining to silver (which was symbolically associated with the Moon by alchemists). 5. (astronomy) Of or pertaining to travel through space between the Earth and the Moon, or exploration and scientific investigation of the Moon. <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lunar> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day: Some years ago, I was lucky enough invited to a gathering of great and good people: artists and scientists, writers and discoverers of things. And I felt that at any moment they would realise that I didn’t qualify to be there, among these people who had really done things. On my second or third night there, I was standing at the back of the hall, while a musical entertainment happened, and I started talking to a very nice, polite, elderly gentleman about several things, including our shared first name. And then he pointed to the hall of people, and said words to the effect of, "I just look at all these people, and I think, what the heck am I doing here? They’ve made amazing things. I just went where I was sent." And I said, "Yes. But you were the first man on the moon. I think that counts for something." And I felt a bit better. Because if Neil Armstrong felt like an imposter, maybe everyone did. --Neil Gaiman <https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Neil_Gaiman> _______________________________________________ Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list. To unsubscribe, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/daily-article-l Questions or comments? Contact [email protected]
