NOVA Online | To the Moon | Apollo 11 Panorama

Apollo 11

Apollo 11 panorama

On July 20, 1969, an estimated 600 million people, or one-fifth of the world's population at the time, watched or listened as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first people to walk on the moon. In this panorama, Aldrin stands by the Lunar Module, removing experiments from its MESA (Modular Equipment Storage Area). Armstrong's shadow can be seen on the lunar soil of the Sea of Tranquility, which stretches to the horizon just a mile and a half away. With no atmosphere to block them, the Sun's glare and the blackness of space press down inexorably.