20 July 1969 (lunar landing, UTC) / Americas
Apollo 11 completes the first crewed lunar landing
Armstrong and Aldrin landed while Collins remained in lunar orbit. Samples, instruments and photographs gave lunar science new direct evidence.
The story
The lunar module landed at about 20:17 UTC on 20 July 1969. Armstrong’s first step occurred on 21 July UTC; landing and moonwalk dates should not be confused across time zones. Armstrong and Aldrin collected samples and deployed experiments while Collins operated the command module. Large ground and industrial teams supported the mission. Houston on this Earth map represents mission control, not the landing site.
Connections and context
Lunar fieldwork complemented telescopes and robotic missions. Returned samples enabled repeated laboratory analysis on Earth, extending scientific work long after the flight ended.
Dates and precision
20 July 1969 (lunar landing, UTC) Documented date
Positioned by the documented year, month or day. Missing precision is not inferred.
Representative map location
Mission Control, Houston
The landing occurred in the Moon’s Sea of Tranquility. The Earth marker represents mission control in Houston.
Representative coordinates · 29.559°, -95.089°
A marker identifies one representative place, such as a manuscript collection, laboratory or observing site. It does not mean the work happened only there, or assign a shared discovery to one country.
Bibliography
- NASA: Apollo 11 mission summary and official timeline
- Apollo 11 Timeline, NASA
References are listed as plain bibliography titles. They support particular facts or context; a reference does not certify every interpretation in a story.