Apollo 11 -- First Humans Land on the Moon

NASA astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. became the first humans to walk on the Moon after the Apollo 11 Lunar Module Eagle landed in the Sea of Tranquility at 20:17 UTC. Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface at 02:56 UTC on July 21, followed by Aldrin 19 minutes later. The pair spent approximately two and a quarter hours outside the spacecraft, collecting 21.5 kilograms of lunar material. Command Module Pilot Michael Collins orbited above in Columbia. The crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24, fulfilling President Kennedy's 1961 goal.