International Moon Day 2023

Every year on July 20 we celebrate International Moon Day. This day marks the anniversary of the first Moon landing made by Apollo 11 on July 20 1969. This year we are celebrating the 54th anniversary of the event. 

Apollo 11 was launched on July 16, 1969, from Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida. Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins were the astronauts in this space project. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man to step foot on the moon. He was joined by Buzz Aldrin 19 minutes later. The site on the Moon where they had landed and explored was named Tranquility Base.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, there was a cold war between the Soviet Union and the United States. During this time, the Soviet Union made historic space advancements, such as the launch of Sputnik 1, the world’s first satellite and Yuri Gagarin’s success in becoming the first man to go into space. To prove its superiority over the Soviet Union, John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, decided to initiate the Apollo 11 moon mission and send its astronauts to the Moon. 

Neil Armstrong’s landing on the Moon was broadcasted live worldwide. His words “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” is etched into history as the first words spoken on the Moon.