BTN News: On July 20, 1969, hundreds of millions of people around the world gathered around televisions or in public spaces to witness a historic event. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, American astronauts, became the first humans to set foot on the moon. Armstrong’s iconic words, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” marked this monumental achievement. It’s hard to imagine that even Armstrong, the Apollo 11 commander, could grasp the extent to which this mission united people on Earth. As Teasel Muir-Harmony, curator at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, pointed out, the mission was not just about sending humans to the moon but also about bringing people together on Earth.
A Worldwide Phenomenon
The idea of landing a man on the moon was proposed by President John F. Kennedy just eight years before the Apollo 11 mission turned that dream into reality from July 16 to 24, 1969. Fifty-five years later, the moon landing remains one of the most significant events of the 20th century, celebrated worldwide. An estimated 650 million people across the globe watched the moon landing, including 94% of American households with a television.
Gas stations in the Netherlands distributed “moon maps” showing where the astronauts would land on the lunar surface. In Laos, the moon landing was the first live national broadcast of a global news event. Chile and Venezuela declared July 20 a national holiday so people could watch the landing on television. President Richard Nixon described it as “an invaluable moment in human history,” adding that “all the people of Earth are truly one.”
A Moment for All Humanity
The sheer act of sending someone into space was extraordinary, said Brian Odom, NASA’s chief historian. “But seeing those images and videos from the moon altered the world, not just the United States but the entire international community. It was a moment for all humanity.”
Early Collaboration
Sending astronauts to the moon was a remarkable feat of American engineering, made possible by the efforts of hundreds of thousands of people. They used the available technology of the 1960s, including early navigation computers that Odom noted are nothing like what we have in modern smartphones. While the engineering was primarily American, the Apollo 11 mission and its global reception benefited from international support. Switzerland provided special zero-gravity watches for the astronauts, and Australia contributed crucial receiving technology to broadcast the moon landing live to the world. In a gesture of solidarity, the astronauts left a disc on the moon inscribed with messages from world leaders.
After the mission, NASA shared lunar samples with world leaders as a symbol of global unity. These samples, from Apollo 11 and subsequent missions, were also shared with scientists in the U.S. and other countries, significantly enhancing our scientific understanding of the moon and the solar system. Following Apollo 11, any data the astronauts brought back was shared with the scientific community, providing a unique opportunity for collaboration.
Future Steps and Continuing Collaboration
The collaboration seen in the early lunar missions has become a cornerstone of lunar exploration today. NASA works with international and commercial partners on the Artemis program, which aims to establish a long-term presence on the moon in preparation for sending astronauts to Mars. Over 40 countries, including the United States, have signed the Artemis Accords, a set of guiding principles to ensure that future space exploration is peaceful, sustainable, and beneficial to all.
In November 2022, NASA launched Artemis I, an uncrewed test flight of the Orion spacecraft, with support from the European Space Agency. NASA is also working with the private sector in the U.S. and Japan to develop vehicles that will enable astronauts to explore the rugged lunar south pole.
As NASA and its partners embark on these and other future space missions, the first steps taken by the Apollo astronauts decades ago serve as a powerful inspiration. “It was something bigger than any one country,” said Muir-Harmony. “It was truly about what humanity can achieve when we come together.”
