Timeline of space exploration 1969 - 2001

Saturday marks 50 years since the historic first moon landing of 1969. On July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, rocketing astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins into space. Four days later, on July 20, 1969, Armstrong and Aldrin landed Apollo 11's module, the Eagle, on the moon and stepped onto the lunar surface.