Bengaluru: As India gears up to witness Chandrayaan-2’s historic landing on moon, why don’t we take a look at the first manned mission to the earth’s satellite way back in 1969? 

Here are some facts: 

Apollo 11 was the first manned mission to land on the moon, sent by the United States 

The Apollo 11 spacecraft was launched from Cape Kennedy on July 16, 1969. After 2 hours and 33 minutes in earth orbit, the S-IVB engine was reignited for acceleration of the spacecraft to the velocity required for earth gravity escape.

The first humans to land on the surface of moon were Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. It took place on July 20, 1969. 

Armstrong's first step onto the lunar surface was broadcast on live TV to a worldwide audience. 

Neil Armstrong is supposed to have said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” When he first landed on the moon. But this line became controversial as the article ‘a’ was missing before the word ‘man’ which allegedly upset NASA. 

Apollo 11 effectively ended the Space Race and fulfilled a national goal proposed in 1961 by President John F Kennedy

Armstrong joined the NASA Astronaut Corps in the second group, which was selected in 1962. He made his first spaceflight as command pilot of Gemini 8 in March 1966, becoming NASA's first civilian astronaut to fly in space.

Apollo 11 achieved its primary mission - to perform a manned lunar landing and return the mission safely to Earth - and paved the way for the Apollo lunar landing missions to follow.