First Moon Landing (1969)

Hello, my name is Neil Armstrong. Ever since I was a little boy, I loved to look up at the night sky. I would dream of flying past the clouds and soaring among the twinkling stars. I built model airplanes and imagined what it would be like to be a pilot. When I grew up, I learned to fly real planes, and then I became something even more special: an astronaut. Being an astronaut meant I was an explorer of space. One day, my team and I were given the most exciting job in the whole world. We were chosen for the Apollo 11 mission. Our goal was to be the very first people to ever try and land on the Moon. I was going to be the commander of the mission, and my friends Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins were my crew. Can you imagine how excited I was? My heart felt like it was doing jumping jacks. We were really going to fly to the Moon.

On the morning of July 16th, 1969, my crew and I climbed into our giant rocket, the Saturn V. It was as tall as a huge skyscraper. When the countdown reached zero, a powerful rumble shook the whole ground. WHOOSH. It felt like a giant, gentle hand was pushing me back into my seat as we blasted off into the sky. Soon, we were floating in space. I looked out the window and saw our home, Planet Earth. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, a swirling blue and white marble hanging in the blackness of space. For four days, we traveled through space. Michael stayed in our main ship, orbiting the Moon, while Buzz and I got into our smaller lander, which we called the Eagle. It was my job to fly the Eagle down to the Moon's surface. I had to be very careful to find a smooth, safe spot to land, away from big rocks and craters. My heart was beating like a drum. Finally, on July 20th, 1969, the Eagle's feet touched the ground. I said to everyone back on Earth, “The Eagle has landed.” We were on the Moon.

Slowly, I opened the door and climbed down the ladder. When my boot touched the soft, dusty ground, I said something I had thought about for a long time: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” It meant that even though it was just one little step for me, it was a huge achievement for everyone on Earth. The Moon was incredible. It was covered in a fine, gray dust, and everything was silent. The gravity was much lighter than on Earth, so I could take big, bouncy steps, almost like I was on a trampoline. Buzz came down the ladder and joined me. Together, we planted the American flag to show that we had been there. We collected moon rocks to bring back for scientists to study. We proved that if people work together as a team and are brave enough to chase their biggest dreams, anything is possible, even taking a walk on the Moon.