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Eagle Has Landed: The Flight of Apollo 11

196947 min 0 sec185 shots

This 1969 NASA film follows Apollo 11 from years of preparation through the crew’s return to Earth. Neil Armstrong commands the mission, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin pilots the lunar module Eagle, and Michael Collins pilots the command module Columbia. After the July 16 launch and three-day journey, Armstrong and Aldrin descend toward the Moon while Collins remains in lunar orbit. Mission-control communications convey the computer alarms, fuel concerns, and careful maneuvers that end with Armstrong reporting, “The Eagle has landed.”

Armstrong becomes the first person to step onto the Moon, and Aldrin joins him on the surface. They collect rock and soil, set up scientific instruments, raise an American flag, and leave memorials and messages of goodwill. Eagle then lifts off, reunites with Columbia, and carries Armstrong and Aldrin back to Collins for the voyage home. The astronauts return over the Pacific on July 24, meet President Richard Nixon aboard the recovery carrier, and enter quarantine as a precaution against possible lunar contamination.

The closing message describes Apollo 11 as both a successful technical achievement and the beginning of further human exploration, while noting that scientists would study the returned samples and data from instruments left on the Moon. An extended music-backed closing section shows personnel monitoring equipment, communicating by headset, observing through windows, and photographing events from a mission-control facility.

Provenance and rights

Original producer: NASA
Collection: NASA Image and Video Library
Original title: Eagle Has Landed: The Flight of Apollo 11
Date: 1969
Original link: Open on images.nasa.gov
Rights: public_domain