In July 1969, Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin made history when they became the first humans to set foot on the moon. More than half a billion people watched this incredible moment as Armstrong climbed down the ladder of the Eagle lunar lander and proclaimed: “That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind.”
The crew splashes down off Hawaii on July 24. Kennedy’s challenge has been met. Men from Earth have walked on the moon and returned safely home. To honor the historic moment, we’ve gathered some powerful photos of Apollo families that capture their emotions and feelings.
#1 From the deck of a boat, Janet Armstrong and her sons Mark and Rick, watch the launch of NASA’s Apollo 11 mission to the moon.
#2 Joan Aldrin, Pat Collins, and Janet Armstrong (left to right) sit on barstools and pose for a picture at the Aldrin home in Houston, Texas, during their husbands’ Apollo 11 moon mission.
#3 Jan Armstrong’s clenched fist expresses her inner turmoil as she watches the mission on TV.
#4 Joan Aldrin (in white) expresses relief as she watches the television broadcast of her husband’s successful mission to the moon, Houston, Texas, July 1969.
#5 Joan Aldrin at home watching her husband’s moon mission via live T.V. transmission. Their daughter Jan, age 11, has fallen asleep.
#6 Janet Armstrong sitting on floor with her two sons, attentively watching TV at home as the lunar module lands on the moon.
#7 Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins greet their wives from the Mobile Quarantine Facility aboard the U.S.S.
Hornet aircraft carrier, which picked them up after splashdown about 812 nautical miles southwest of Hawaii. The astronauts were quarantined for several days after landing as a precautionary measure, to ensure there was no spread of any potential germs picked up on the moon.
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#8 Joan Aldrin speaks on the phone to her husband, Buzz, while he gazes out from the Apollo 11 Mobile Quarantine Facility aboard the U.S.S.
#9 Pat Collins (left) stands with the couple’s three children—Mike, 6; Ann, 7; and Kathleen, 10—on the lawn of their family home in Houston, Texas.
#10 Janet Armstrong reacts to a picture of her husband that was taken during a telecast from the spacecraft and beamed back to Earth on July 18, 1969.
#11 Six-year-old Mark Armstrong holds the morning newspaper at the family home in Houston, Texas, on July 20, 1969.
#12 Joan Aldrin talks with reporters at her home on July 17, 1969, the day after the mission’s successful launch.
#13 Surrounded by friends and family, Joan Aldrin (center) claps for her husband, Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin.
#14 Joan Aldrin (in polka dot white shirt) in the living room of their Texas home with sons, daughter and friends watching her husband’s moon mission via live T.V. transmission.
#15 The three Apollo 11 astronauts pose with their families on a model of the moon in March 1969, ahead of the mission’s July 16 launch.
Pictured are astronaut Michael Collins and his wife Pat with their children Mike, Kate, and Ann at the top; astronaut Buzz Aldrin, his wife Joan, and their children Mike, Jan, and Andy at left; and astronaut Neil Armstrong and his wife Janet with children Ricky and Mark to the right.
