CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) 鈥� America鈥檚 most daring, extraordinary feat 鈥� 鈥� remains the pinnacle of achievement by anyone anywhere. Ever.
And the lunar lander 鈥� a groundbreaking piece of America 鈥� is up there still, far away.
NASA put 12 men on the more than half a century ago, beginning with . The two became the first humans to explore another world when their lander, bearing the patriotic name Eagle, settled onto the Sea of Tranquility on July 20, 1969. 鈥淭he Eagle has landed,鈥� Armstrong radioed as a spellbound Earth erupted in cheers and tears.
Just 6陆 hours later came the most momentous and memorable line of all. Armstrong descended the ladder and stepped onto the gray, gritty dust: 鈥淭hat鈥檚 one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.鈥�
At 23 feet (7 meters), the Apollo lunar module stood a little taller than a giraffe and looked just as ungainly. It had two sections: a lower descent stage with four legs and an upper stage that housed the crew. The descent stage got the moonwalkers to the lunar surface and remained behind as the men blasted back into lunar orbit.
All six descent stages will be there for perpetuity, clumped around the equator on the moon鈥檚 near side.
NASA鈥檚 Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and other countries鈥� satellites around the moon have photographed them. Resembling whitish splotches from orbit, the descent stages pinpoint the touchdown sites not only of Eagle but Intrepid, Antares, Falcon, Orion and Challenger. Its moon landing nixed, Apollo 13鈥檚 lunar module Aquarius was turned into a lifeboat that got its crew of three safely home. The ascent stages are scattered all over the moon 鈥� smashed to bits, no longer needed once the moonwalkers were back inside the command module. Some speculate, however, that Apollo 11’s ascent stage might still be orbiting.
For NASA鈥檚 new Artemis program, private businesses are handling lunar lander details and operations. Elon Musk鈥檚 SpaceX and Jeff Bezos鈥� Blue Origin are scrambling to get their landers ready for a docking test in low-Earth orbit with a NASA crew capsule next year. If Artemis III鈥檚 docking rehearsal goes well, NASA could launch its first moon landing with astronauts since Apollo as early as 2028. SpaceX鈥檚 Starship is so tall that moonwalkers will need a 10-floor elevator to descend to the lunar surface. The Apollo astronauts used a nine-rung ladder.
On that long-ago day, President Richard Nixon said in a phone call to Armstrong and Aldrin as the pair stood alongside the U.S. flag they had just planted 240,000 miles (385,000 kilometers) from home. Said Nixon: 鈥淔or one priceless moment in the whole history of man, all the people on this Earth are truly one.鈥�
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Part of a recurring series, 鈥淎merican Objects,鈥� marking the 250th anniversary of the United States. For more American objects, click . For more stories on the anniversary, click . The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute鈥檚 Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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