NASA named these three astronauts as the prime crew of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission in May 1969 in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Posing from left to right, are Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, command module pilot; and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot. File Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo
The Apollo 11 crew from left to right, Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin, conduct a crew compartment fit and functional check of the equipment and storage locations in their command module at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. on June 10, 1969. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo
The transporter moves the Apollo 11 Saturn V into place at Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center on May 20, 1969. File Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo
On July 16, 1969, Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins lifted off from Cape Canaveral in the mammoth Saturn V rocket on their way to the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. File Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo
Vice President Spiro Agnew and former President Lyndon B. Johnson (C) view the liftoff of Apollo 11 from the Kennedy Space Center at 9:32 a.m. EDT on July 16, 1969. File Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo
The Saturn V rocket lifts off en route to the moon. File Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo
The American flag heralded the launch of Apollo 11 at 9:32 a.m. EDT. File Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo
The Apollo 11 Saturn V rocket climbs toward orbit after liftoff from Pad 39A. File Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo
This interior view of the Apollo 11 lunar module shows Aldrin during the lunar landing mission. This picture was taken by Armstrong on July 20, 1969. File Photo by Neil Armstrong/NASA | License Photo
The lunar module Eagle is shown in lunar orbit on July 20, 1969 prior to its descent to the surface of the moon. At 1:28 p.m. EDT the day before, the module went into orbit around the moon. The long "rod-like" protrusions under the legs are lunar surface sensing probes. Upon contact with the lunar surface, the probes sent a signal to the crew to shut down the descent engine. File Photo by Michael Collins/NASA | License Photo
The lunar module ascent stage, with astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin aboard, is photographed from the command and service modules in lunar orbit on July 20, 1969. Collins, command module pilot, remained with the command module in lunar orbit while Armstrong and Aldrin explored the moon's surface. This photo shows the lunar module approaching from below. The coordinates of the center of the lunar terrain are 102 degrees east longitude and 1 degree north latitude. File Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo
The command and service modules are photographed from the lunar module in lunar orbit on July 20, 1969. The lunar surface below is in the north central Sea of Fertility. The coordinates of the center of the picture are 51 degrees east longitude and 1 degree north latitude. About half of the crater Taruntius G is visible in the lower left corner of the picture. Part of Taruntius H can be seen at lower right. File Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo
Armstrong descends the ladder of the lunar module prior to making the first step by man onto another celestial body. This view is a black-and-white reproduction taken from a telecast by the Apollo 11 lunar surface camera. The black bar running through the center of the picture is an anomaly in the television ground data system at the Goldstone Tracking Station. File Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo
Aldrin descends the steps of the lunar module ladder as he prepares to walk on the moon. This photo was taken by Armstrong with a 70mm lunar surface camera. File Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo
The Earth rise is seen from the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969. File Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo
A close-up view of an astronaut's bootprint in the lunar soil during the Apollo 11 moonwalk. File Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo
Aldrin walks on the surface of the moon near a leg of the lunar module. File Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo
The deployment of the U.S. flag on the surface of the moon by Armstrong (L) and Aldrin is captured on film. The picture was taken from film exposed by the 16mm Data Acquisition Camera, which was mounted in the lunar module. File Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo
Aldrin poses for a photo beside the deployed U.S. flag. File Photo by Neil Armstrong/NASA | License Photo
Aldrin walks on the surface of the moon near the leg of the lunar module. File Photo by Neil Armstrong/NASA | License Photo
Pararescueman prepare to pick up the astronauts after they splashed down at 12:50 p.m. on July 24, 1969, 900 miles southwest of Hawaii and 12 nautical miles from the USS Hornet, where they would board. File Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo
Pararescueman Lt. Clancy Hatleberg closes the spacecraft hatch as astronauts Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin await a helicopter pickup from their life raft. File Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo
NASA and Manned Spacecraft Center officials join flight controllers in the Mission Operations Control Room of the Mission Control Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on July 24, 1969 in celebrating the successful conclusion of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission. Identifiable in the picture, starting in foreground, are Robert R. Gilruth, MSC director; George M. Low, manager, Apollo Spacecraft Program, MSC; Christopher C. Kraft Jr., MSC director of flight pperation; U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Samuel C. Phillips (with glasses, looking downward), Apollo program director, Office of Manned Space Flight, NASA headquarters; and George E. Mueller (with glasses, looking toward left), associate administrator, Office of Manned Space Flight, NASA headquarters. Former astronaut John H. Glenn Jr. is standing behind Low. File Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo
Donned in biological isolation garments, the Apollo 11 crew members, Aldrin, Armstrong (waving), and Collins exit the recovery pick-up helicopter to board the USS Hornet aircraft carrier after splashdown on July 24, 1969. File Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo
President Richard M. Nixon was in the central Pacific recovery area to welcome the Apollo 11 astronauts aboard the USS Hornet. Already confined to the Mobile Quarantine Facility are, from left to right, Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin. The three crew men would remain in the MQF until they arrive at the Manned Spacecraft Center's Lunar Receiving Laboratory. File Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo