Classroom lesson 路 Moon landing馃嚭馃嚫 United States

Walking on the Moon

In 1969, two Americans became the first people ever to set foot on the Moon

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin standing on the surface of the Moon in 1969

Photo 路 Wikimedia Commons

What is it?

On 20 July 1969, a spacecraft called Apollo 11 landed two American astronauts - Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin - on the surface of the Moon. They became the first humans ever to walk on another world. About 600 million people watched it happen on television, the biggest live audience in history at that point.

Tell me more

The Moon is about 384,000 kilometres away from Earth. That is roughly ten times around the world. Apollo 11 took three days to get there, travelling at over 40,000 kilometres per hour. When the lander finally touched the Moon's surface, the radio crackled and Armstrong said: 'The Eagle has landed.'

Neil Armstrong was the first to step out. As his boot touched the dust, he said: 'That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.' Buzz Aldrin climbed down 19 minutes later. The two of them spent about two and a half hours bouncing about on the Moon, planting a flag, collecting rocks and taking photos.

The Moon has no air, no wind and no rain. So when astronauts press their boots into the dust, the footprints stay exactly where they are. Armstrong and Aldrin's footprints from 1969 are almost certainly still there today - dust patterns from over 50 years ago, perfectly preserved.

Since 1969, twelve people in total have walked on the Moon - all of them between 1969 and 1972. Nobody has been back since. But new missions are being planned right now, with astronauts from many countries hoping to go in the next few years. The next person to walk on the Moon might be alive in a school today.

In the classroom

Walk your class through this in 15 minutes.

Talk together

Discussion prompts

  1. 01If you could send one object to the Moon to leave there for 100 years, what would you choose, and why?
  2. 02Why might the world have watched the landing all together at the same time?
  3. 03What do you think the first person to step on Mars will say?
Try this

Classroom activity

Build a 'distance to the Moon' line on the playground. If a football is the Earth, a tennis ball is the Moon, and the Moon would be about 7 metres away. Walk that distance and look back at the football. Could you imagine flying that far?

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