Footprints on Another World
On July 20th, 1969,
humans first set foot on
the Moon.
Taken from a window of their Apollo 11 lunar module, the Eagle,
this picture shows the footprints in the
powdery lunar soil made by
astronauts
Neil Armstrong and
Buzz Aldrin.
It has been estimated that
one billion people on
planet Earth watched Armstrong step from
the lander onto the
surface of another world,
making this live transmission
one of the highest rated television shows ever.
In the foreground at right, a rocket nozzle on the side of
the Eagle is seen in silhouette, while beyond an unfurled
United States flag
is the television camera, remounted on
a stand to better view the landing area.
The Apollo
missions to the Moon have been described as the result of the
greatest technological mobilization in
history.