Lunar Legacy: 45 Apollo Moon Mission Photos

First Test Launch of a Saturn V Rocket

NASA

The giant Saturn V rocket for the Apollo 4 mission at the Kennedy Space Center's launch complex 39A stands at the dawn of November 8, 1967, during the pre-launch alert.

President John F. Kennedy giving moon speech in 1961

NASA

On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced his goal of putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade.

President Kennedy at Cape Canaveral with NASA Officials

NASA

Dr. Wernher von Braun (center) describes the Saturn Launch System to President John F. Kennedy (right, pointing). NASA Deputy Administrator Robert Seamans stands to the left of von Braun.

Apollo 11 Launch

NASA

The Apollo 11 mission launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida on July 16, 1969, bearing the first humans to walk on the moon.

Apollo 11: Supersonic Saturn 5

NASA.

A Saturn V rocket launches the Apollo 11 crew on the first moon landing mission on July 16, 1969 in this image framed by an American flag. Four days later, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon while crewmate Michael Collins orbited above.

First Footprints on the Moon

NASA

Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin Aldrin photographed this iconic photo, a view of his footprint in the lunar soil, as part of an experiment to study the nature of lunar dust and the effects of pressure on the surface during the historic first manned moon landing in July 1969.

Buzz Aldrin, Second Man on the Moon

NASA

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, lunar module pilot, walks on the surface of the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission, July 1969.

Apollo 11 Mission Officials After Apollo 11 Liftoff

NASA

Apollo 11 mission officials relax in the Launch Control Center following the successful Apollo 11 liftoff on July 16, 1969. Second from left (with binoculars) stands Dr. Wernher von Braun, Director of the Marshall Space Flight Center.

Neil Armstrong in Lunar Module

NASA

Neil Armstrong sits in the lunar module after a historic moonwalk.

Apollo 11 Launch

NASA

The Apollo 11 Saturn V space vehicle climbs toward orbit on July 16, 1969, bearing astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. Armstrong and Aldrin would make history as the first men on the moon.

Aldrin Gazes at Tranquility Base

NASA

Astronaut and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin with the LR-3 during the Apollo 11 mission, the only Apollo experiment that is still returning data from the moon.

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