Various astronauts have already set foot on the moon.
(Photo : Photo by NASA/Newsmakers)
Neil Armstrong steps into history July 20, 1969 by leaving the first human footprint on the surface of the moon. The 30th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon is being commemorated on July 20, 1999.
Thanks to the efforts of NASA and its partner organizations, different individuals could visit the Earth's natural satellite.
The very first moon surface visit happened back in 1969. It was Neil Armstrong who had his footprint on the heavenly body's surface.
But, after Armstrong, more astronauts followed his lunar walk. Although they were not the first to set foot on the natural satellite, their landings are still important.
Meet the Astronauts Who Walked on the Moon!
Space.Com reported that the U.S. government began its commitment to visit the moon during John F. Kennedy's time.
(Photo : Photo by NASA/Newsmakers)
The deployment of scientific experiments by Astronaut Edwin Aldrin Jr. is photographed by Astronaut Neil Armstrong. Man's first landing on the Moon occurred July 20, 1969 as Lunar Module "Eagle" touched down gently on the Sea of Tranquility on the east side of the Moon.
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"We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard," said the former U.S. president back in 1962.
Now, the United States and its partner countries are continuing this promise.
If you are interested to know who are the astronauts who have already visited the Moon, you can check the complete list below:
- Neil Armstrong (Apollo 11)
- Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11)
- Charles "Pete" Conrad (Apollo 12)
- Alan Bean (Apollo 12)
- Alan Shepard (Apollo 14)
- Edgar Mitchell (Apollo 14)
- David Scott (Apollo 15)
- James Irwin (Apollo 15)
- John Young (Apollo 16)
- Charles Duke (Apollo 16)
- Eugene Cernan (Apollo 17)
- Harrison Schmitt (Apollo 17)
Fun Facts About the Moon
Now that you know who stepped on the Moon's surface, then you must learn fun facts about the Earth's natural satellite.
First, the Moon's gravity is quite weak compared to Earth's. Because of this, astronauts tend to float since they will weigh 16% of what they do when they are on the planet.
This means that astronauts can jump six times higher compared to when they are on Earth. Aside from this, NASA Science Solar System Exploration also shared other fun facts about the heavenly body that you must know:
- The Moon has a very thin atmosphere called an exosphere.
- The Moon's presence helps stabilize Earth's wobbling, as well as keep its climate in check.
- The Moon's distance from Earth is about 240,000 miles.
The Moon's surface is cratered and pitted from comet and asteroid impacts.
In other stories, UAE's first moon spaceflight will reportedly be launched by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.
Previously, we reported that Japan's commercial moon launch might overlap with NASA's Artemis mission.
For more news updates about the Moon and other space objects, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.
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Written by Griffin Davis
