On July 20, 1969, U.S. astronauts Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. and Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. They addressed a joint meeting of Congress two months later.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. on the Moon, July 20, 1969
Race to the Moon
In the 1950s the United States and the Soviet Union both began programs for manned and unmanned scientific missions into space. Spurred by the Soviets’ successful 1957 launch of the unmanned Sputnik 1 satellite, Congress initiated the U.S. civilian space program. Winning the space race became a political, scientific, and security priority, intensified after President John F. Kennedy and Congress set a national goal of being first to send an astronaut to the moon.
I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth.
- President John F. Kennedy, “Urgent National Needs” Speech, May 25, 1961
On July 20, 1969, U.S. astronauts Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. and Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. They addressed a joint meeting of Congress two months later.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
