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50th Anniversary of NASA's Apollo 11 Moon Landing
In June 1969, just a month before liftoff, the Apollo 11 astronauts continued training at NASA's Kennedy Space Center for their mission. In this image, Command Module (CM) pilot Michael Collins practices in the CM simulator on June 19, 1969, at Kennedy Space Center. Apollo 11 landed on the lunar surface 50 years ago this month on July 20, 1969. NASA/UPI
KSC99071521 - MAY 1969 - CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA, USA: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has named these three astronauts as the prime crew of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission. Left to right, are Neil A. Armstrong, commander Michael Collins, command module pilot and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot. iw/NASA UPI
As the Apollo 11 astronauts rehearse their lunar landing mission in simulators, they pause in front of a lunar module mockup in the Flight Crew Training Building area on June 19, 1969. From left, are Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, Commander Neil A. Armstrong, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. Apollo 11 landed on the lunar surface 50 years ago this month on July 20, 1969. NASA/UPI
NASA marks Apollo 11 mission to the Moon 40th Anniversary
The Apollo 11 crew (L to R) Neil Armstrong, commander, Michael Collins, command module pilot, and Buzz Aldrin, lunar module pilot, stand near the Apollo/Saturn V space vehicle at Kennedy Space Center, Florida on May 20, 1969. NASA marks the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon and the historic first "moonwalk" this year. During the eight-day space mission, Armstrong and Aldrin explored the Moon's surface and brought back rock samples for scientists to study. Collins piloted the command module in the lunar orbit during their 22-hour stay on the moon. (UPI Photo/NASA)
Carrying the Apollo 11 Saturn V rocket and mobile launcher, the crawler inches its way along the three-and-a-half-mile journey to Launch Pad 39A. The 363-foot-high space vehicle launched Apollo 11 astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. on the first manned lunar landing mission. Apollo 11 landed on the lunar surface 50 years ago this month on July 20, 1969. NASA/UPI
The crew of Apollo 11, (left to right) Neil A. Armstrong, commander Michael Collins, command module pilot and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot, performed a walk-through egress test on June 10, 1969. The hands-on test was in preparation for the first manned lunar landing mission. Apollo 11 landed on the lunar surface 50 years ago this month on July 20, 1969. NASA/UPI
The Apollo 11 crew await pickup by a helicopter from the USS Hornet, prime recovery ship for the historic lunar landing mission. The fourth man in the life raft is a United States Navy underwater demolition team swimmer. All four men are wearing biological isolation garments. The Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin aboard splashed down at 11:49 a.m. CDT, July 24, 1969, about 812 nautical miles southwest of Hawaii and only 12 nautical miles from the USS Hornet. Apollo 11 landed on the lunar surface 50 years ago this month on July 20, 1969. NASA/UPI
In the Mission Operations Control Room of the Mission Control Center, Building 30, Manned Spacecraft Center, flight controllers applaud the splashdown and success of the Apollo 11 lunar mission. Four days earlier on July 20, 1969, mission commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. Armstrong, Aldrin and command module pilot Michael Collins splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24, successfully completing the mission. Apollo 11 landed on the lunar surface 50 years ago this month on July 20, 1969. NASA/UPI
NASA marks Apollo 11 mission to the Moon 40th Anniversary
Pararescueman Lt. Clancy Hatleberg closes the Apollo 11 spacecraft hatch as astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin, Jr. await a helicopter pickup from their life raft after they splashed down at 12:50 pm EDT 900 miles southwest of Hawaii on July 24, 1969. NASA marks the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon and the historic first "moonwalk" this year. During the eight-day space mission, Armstrong and Aldrin explored the Moon's surface and brought back rock samples for scientists to study. Collins piloted the command module in the lunar orbit during their 22-hour stay on the moon. (UPI Photo/NASA)
NASA marks Apollo 11 mission to the Moon 40th Anniversary
Donned in biological isolation garments, the Apollo 11 crew members, (L to R) Edwin Aldrin, Neil Armstrong (waving), and Michael Collins exit the recovery pick up helicopter to board the U.S.S. Hornet aircraft carrier after splashdown on July 24, 1969. NASA marks the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon and the historic first "moonwalk" this year. During the eight-day space mission, Armstrong and Aldrin explored the Moon's surface and brought back rock samples for scientists to study. Collins piloted the command module in the lunar orbit during their 22-hour stay on the moon. (UPI Photo/NASA)
President Richard M. Nixon was in the central Pacific recovery area to welcome the Apollo 11 astronauts aboard the USS Hornet, prime recovery ship for the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing mission. Already confined to the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) are (left to right) Neil A. Armstrong, commander Michael Collins, command module pilot and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot. Apollo 11 splashed down at 11:49 a.m. (CDT), July 24, 1969, about 812 nautical miles southwest of Hawaii and only 12 nautical miles from the USS Hornet. Apollo 11 landed on the lunar surface 50 years ago this month on July 20, 1969. NASA/UPI
Within the Mobile Quarantine Facility, Apollo 11 astronauts (left to right) Michael Collins, Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. and Neil A. Armstrong relax following their successful lunar landing mission. They spent two-and-one-half days in the quarantine trailer en route from the USS Hornet, prime recovery ship, to the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston. The Hornet docked at Pearl Harbor where the trailer was transferred to a jet aircraft for the flight to Houston. Apollo 11 landed on the lunar surface 50 years ago this month on July 20, 1969. NASA/UPI
NASA marks Apollo 11 mission to the Moon 40th Anniversary
Confetti and streamers fill the street as the City of Chicago welcomes the three Apollo 11 astronauts, Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin, Jr. on August 13, 1969. NASA marks the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon and the historic first "moonwalk" this year. During the eight-day space mission, Armstrong and Aldrin explored the Moon's surface and brought back rock samples for scientists to study. Collins piloted the command module in the lunar orbit during their 22-hour stay on the moon. (UPI Photo/NASA)
New York City welcomes Apollo 11 crewmen in a showering of ticker tape down Broadway and Park Avenue in a parade termed as the largest in the city's history. Pictured in the lead car, from the right, are astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, commander Michael Collins, command module pilot and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot. The three astronauts teamed for the first manned lunar landing, on July 20, 1969. Apollo 11 landed on the lunar surface 50 years ago this month on July 20, 1969. NASA/UPI
BUSH, COLLINS, ALDRIN, ARMSTRONG COMMEMORATE 35TH ANNIVERSARY OF FIRST LUNAR LANDING
President George W. Bush, left center, poses with astronauts Michael Collins, Niel Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, left to right, during a photo opportunity on July 21, 2004, in the Oval Office of the White House, commemorating the 35th anniversary of the first landing on the moon. (UPI Photo/Roger L. Wollenberg)
Apollo 11 crew members, Buzz Aldrin, left, Michael Collins, 2nd from left, Neil Armstrong and NASA Mission Control creator and former NASA Johnson Space Center director Chris Kraft, right, gathered at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington on Sunday, July 19, 2009. (UPI Photo/NASA/Bill Ingalls
U.S. President Barack Obama meets with crew members of Apollo 11 on the 40th anniversary of the first manned moon landing in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on July 20, 2009. From left are Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, Neil Armstrong (first man on the moon) and Obama. (UPI Photo/Roger L. Wollenberg)
40th anniversary of Moon landing celebrated in Washington
Astronauts Michael Collins, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Eugene "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr., (L to R) are honored during the 40th anniversary of their Apollo 11 flight which put the first man on the moon on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 21, 2009. (UPI Photo/Roger L. Wollenberg)
40th anniversary of Moon landing celebrated in Washington
Astronaut Michael Collins attends an event marking the 40th anniversary of their Apollo 11 flight which put the first man on the moon on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 21, 2009. (UPI Photo/Roger L. Wollenberg)
Congress honors astronauts with Congressional Gold Medal in Washington
John Glenn (L) shakes hands with Buzz Aldrin during a Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony honoring astronauts John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin on Capitol Hill in Washington on November 16, 2011. UPI/Roger L. Wollenberg
Congress honors astronauts with Congressional Gold Medal in Washington
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, gives Michael Collins his medal during a Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony honoring astronauts John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin on Capitol Hill in Washington on November 16, 2011. UPI/Roger L. Wollenberg
Apollo 11 Astronauts Michael Collins, left, and Buzz Aldrin talk at a private memorial service celebrating the life of Neil Armstrong, August 31, 2012, at the Camargo Club in Cincinnati. Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon during the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, died Saturday, Aug. 25. He was 82. UPI/Bill Ingalls/NASA
President Donald Trump meets with Apollo 11 Astronauts at the White House
President Donald Trump delivers remarks as he welcomes Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, and family members of the late Neil Armstrong, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C. on Friday, July 19, 2019. Tomorrow makes the 50th anniversary that Apollo 11 became the first mission to land on the moon. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI
President Donald Trump meets with Apollo 11 Astronauts at the White House
Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins listens as President Trump delivers remarks as he and fellow Apollo 11 astronaut, Buzz Aldrin, and family members of the late Neil Armstrong, are welcomed to the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C. on Friday, July 19, 2019. Tomorrow makes the 50th anniversary that Apollo 11 became the first mission to land on the moon. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI