Historic Space Date 20th July

20th July 1969 -  Apollo 11's lunar module Eagle, which had separated from the command module carried a crew of two down to the lunar surface. 


While Michael Collins waited in the command module, Neil Armstrong and Edwin E "Buzz" Aldrin landed on the moon.  Mission control were told by Neil Armstrong "The Eagle has Landed." 

First Man On The Moon
 UK Commemorative  Cover

Back on Earth the world watched and waited. At 10.56 pm EST, (2.56 GMT) Neil Armstrong became the first human to step on the moon and said the historic words "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."   


At 11.11pm EST "Buzz" Aldrin joined Armstrong and together, following the tradition of centuries of explorers, they planted a flag, the US flag.


It is fitting then that 20th july 2011 sees the return of Space Shuttle Atlantis marking the end of the NASA Space Shuttle Flight Program and lunar missions.