Giant Leap

Giant Leap literally thrust into history on Apollo 11 on July 20, 1969. Then, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon with this communication from Tranquility Base "The Eagle Has Landed". Armstrong follows with "Its one small step for man, one Giant Leap for mankind". A truly remarkable moment in history for all of us.

Giant Leap Video of Apollo 11

The journey to the single step that became the first Giant Leap moment began May 25, 1961. President John F. Kennedy announced the strategic goal of sending NASA to the moon before the end of the decade. In a speech given before a joint session of Congress on May 25, 1961: "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 the Earth."

Kennedy's bold strategic goal set the nation and the human race on a journey unlike any event before in human history. The Giant Leap was complete before the decade was over.

Click Play above to see the Giant Leap NASA film clip of the 1969 Moon Walk and the "1 Giant Leap"

Preserve your Giant Leap memories. Celebrate and remember Apollo 11!

There are elements to this story that make it almost a fairly tale. The lives of so many people were affected in so many ways as the world was changed forever in not only technology, but in ideals. This was indeed One Giant Leap. But there are other Giant Leaps that we can make. Giant Leaps that we should make. And beyond the history of the first Giant Leap, that is what this event and its memory are all about.

Here are some really cool Giant Leap Pictures!

			Photograph of Buzz Aldrin on the Moon This picture after the Giant Leap onto the moon is of Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, lunar module pilot, as he walks on the surface of the Moon near the leg of the Lunar Module "Eagle". Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, commander, took this photograph with a 70mm lunar surface camera. While astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin descended in the Lunar Module "Eagle" to explore the Sea of Tranquility region of the Moon, astronaut Michael Collins, remained with the Command and Service Modules "Columbia" in lunar orbit. Image Courtesy of NASA.

			Photograph of Buzz Aldrin and the U.S. flag on the Moon Here is different picture of Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, as he poses for a photograph beside the deployed United States flag during an Apollo 11 during the extravehicular activity on the lunar surface. The Lunar Module is on the left, and the footprints of the astronauts are clearly visible in the soil of the Moon. Astronaut Neil Armstrong, commander, also took this picture with a 70mm Hasselblad lunar surface camera. Image Courtesy of NASA.

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