APOLLO 11: A CHRONOLOGY FROM LAUNCH TO LUNAR LANDING

Apollo 11 launched from Cape Kennedy on July 16, 1969. The primary objective of Apollo 11 was to complete a national goal set by President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961: perform a crewed lunar landing and return to Earth. Additional flight objectives included scientific exploration, deployment of a television camera to transmit signals to Earth, deployment of a solar wind composition experiment, seismic experiment package and a Laser Ranging Retroreflector. During the exploration, the two astronauts gathered samples of lunar-surface materials for return to Earth. They also extensively photographed the lunar terrain, deployed scientific equipment, the LM spacecraft, and each other, both with still and motion picture cameras. The astronauts collected 21.6 kilograms of material, including 50 rocks, samples of the fine-grained lunar regolith (or "soil"), and two core tubes that included material from up to 13 centimeters below the Moon's surface. These samples contained no water and provided no evidence for living organisms at any time in the Moon's history.

The following photographs are meant to provide a brief pictorial summary of the Apollo 11 mission from launch to recovery of the command module spacecraft.