FIRST MOON LANDING

The first man to walk on the moon was Neil Armstrong, on 20th July 1969

He went there on a rocket ship called Apollo 11, built by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). It included a command module called Columbia and a lunar lander called the Eagle.As Armstrong first set foot on the moon, he said the famous words "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." He actually intended to say "That's one small step for a man..." but in the excitement got it slightly wrong.Also on board Apollo 11 were Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. Aldrin joined Armstrong on the moon for 21 hours, while Collins stayed on board Columbia to pilot it.Armstrong and Aldrin planted an American flag on the moon.They returned to Earth and splashed down in the Pacific ocean on July 24.There were five more manned lunar landings between 1969 and 1972. A total of 12 men have walked on the moon.In 1971 an astronaut called Alan Shepard played golf on the moon.