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PHOTOS: The 50th Anniversary Of The Moon Landing

July 16, 2019

Benjamin Swasey

This article is more than 3 years old.

Saturday marks 50 years since Apollo 11 astronauts stepped onto the surface of the moon, on July 20, 1969. Here's a look back, in photos:

On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy speaks before a joint session of Congress, issuing the challenge for NASA to send a man to the moon. That challenge that was met on July 20, 1969, when Apollo 11's lunar module landed on the moon. (AP) — On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy speaks before a joint session of Congress, issuing the challenge for NASA to send a man to the moon. (AP)

A diagram depicting the planned moon landing mission (Courtesy of Draper)

Dr. Charles "Doc" Stark Draper, head of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory and later founder of the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, sits in the Apollo Navigation Simulator on the lab’s roof at MIT. (Courtesy of Draper) — Dr. Charles "Doc" Stark Draper, head of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory and later founder of the Draper Laboratory, sits in the Apollo Navigation Simulator on the lab’s roof at MIT. (Courtesy of Draper)

Margaret Hamilton, seen here in a mock-up of the Apollo command module in November 1969, headed a group at the MIT Instrumentation Lab that programmed the pinpoint landing on the moon. (AP)

On July 16, 1969, the Saturn V rocket carrying the Apollo 11 crew launches at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (NASA via AP)

On July 20, 1969, Andy Aldrin, 10, sits in the backyard of his home in Houston while other members of his family listen to the reports of the progress of the lunar module carrying his father, Col. Buzz Aldrin, and fellow astronaut Neil Armstrong to a landing on the moon. (AP)

Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong steps on the surface of the moon. (AP)

Neil Armstrong is reflected in the helmet visor of Buzz Aldrin on the surface of the moon. The astronauts had a camera mounted to the front of their suits. (Neil Armstrong/NASA via AP)

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin poses for a photograph beside the U.S. flag on the moon. (Neil Armstrong/NASA via AP) — Astronaut Buzz Aldrin poses for a photo beside the U.S. flag on the moon. (Neil Armstrong/NASA via AP)

NASA mission control personnel watch the moonwalk by Apollo 11 astronauts, on July 21, 1969, in Houston. (NASA via AP)

The Apollo 11 Lunar Module approaches the Command and Service Modules for docking in lunar orbit. Astronaut Michael Collins remained with the CSM in lunar orbit while the other two crewmen explored the moon's surface. (Michael Collins/NASA via AP)

From left: U.S. Air Force Sgt. Michael Chivaris, Clinton, Mass.; Army Spec. 4 Andrew Hutchins, Middlebury, Vt.; Air Force Sgt. John Whalin, Indianapolis, Ind.; and Army Spec. 4 Lloyd Newton, Roseburg, Ore., read a newspaper about the Apollo 11 moon landing, in Saigon, Vietnam. (Hugh Van Es/AP)

On July 24, 1969, Lt. Clancy Hatleberg closes the Apollo 11 spacecraft hatch as astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin await helicopter pickup from their life raft after splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. (Milt Putnam/U.S. Navy via AP)

On July 27, 1969, Apollo 11 crew members, from left, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins sit inside a quarantine van in Houston. (AP)

On Aug. 13, 1969, people line 42nd Street in New York to cheer the Apollo 11 astronauts. (AP)

Jack Heely, 5, of Alexandria, Va., plays with a toy space helmet as he views Neil Armstrong's Apollo 11 spacesuit after it is unveiled at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum on July 16, 2019. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

Related:

The Making Of Apollo's Command Module: 2 Engineers Recall Tragedy And Triumph

Benjamin Swasey Digital Manager
Ben is WBUR's digital news manager.

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