First Step on the Moon

FIRST STEP

Apollo 11 · Sea of Tranquility · July 1969

Tranquility Base: 0.67408° N, 23.47297° E

The story behind the most famous footprint in history, and the design it inspired.

The story

On 16 July 1969, a Saturn V rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center carrying Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. Four days later, while Collins circled alone in the command module Columbia, Armstrong and Aldrin guided the lunar module Eagle down to the Sea of Tranquility. They landed with only seconds of fuel to spare.

"Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."

A few hours later Armstrong climbed down the ladder and put his left boot on the Moon. An estimated 600 million people watched on television, the largest audience in history at the time.

Aldrin joined him minutes later. Together they planted the flag, set up experiments and collected rock samples, spending about two and a half hours outside. Before leaving, Aldrin photographed his own bootprint in the grey dust. That picture became one of the most recognisable images of the 20th century, and it's the image on our FIRST STEP design.

With no wind or rain on the Moon, those prints are thought to still be there.