Neil Armstrong took his first step onto the moon 50 years ago, and since that day on July 20, 1969, 11 men have followed in his footsteps over six different missions in three years (NOTE: that figure doesn't include Apollo 13 because they never landed on the moon). Here's what the 12 astronauts who have walked the lunar surface have said about their awe-inspiring experiences:
It has been a half-century since Neil Armstrong stepped out of a lunar module and onto the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969 and declared, That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind. The moment heralded a golden age of space exploration that was set in motion just eight years earlier in 1961, when President John F. Kennedy promised before Congress to put a man on the moon before the decade was out. Here are some lesser-known facts about the historic first mission:
European leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel joined French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday for the traditional Bastille Day military parade in Paris.
A blackout hit more than 40,000 people in New York City s Manhattan borough on Saturday evening, plunging subway stations and shops into darkness and sending thousands of people into the streets after an apparent transformer explosion on the Upper West Side, officials said.
Tens of thousands rallied in a large Hong Kong suburb on Sunday, driven by abiding anger at the government's handling of an extradition bill that has revived fears of China tightening its grip over the former British colony.
(Warning: graphic content) Images taken by Reuters photographers around the world in June 2019, including the Women's World Cup, protests in Hong Kong, the migrant crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border and Pride month worldwide. Produced by Canice Leung.
