It's 47 years since man conquered the moon

Washington, July 21: July 20, 2016, marked the 47th anniversary of the mankind's giant leap as it was on this date in 1969 when Nasa astronauts had first landed on the moon. [Form moon to Mars, Armstrong will be there always]

The trio of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins blasted off from Earth on a huge Saturn V rocket on July 16, 1969, and it reached the destination four days later. The Eagle module which landed on the surface had Armstrong and Aldrin inside while Collins stayed behind in the orbiting Columbia craft.

It was Armstrong who had touched the moon's surface first even as millions back home watched with excitement. Armstrong's one-liner "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" is a famous one now. Aldrin was the second to touch the moon's surface.

The astronauts, who had opened a new chapter in the progress of mankind, returned home after planting an American flag and a plaque reading "We came in peace for all mankind" back in the moon.

On Wednesday, Aldrin posted a short clip of the Eagle's landing followed by Armstrong saying "the Eagle has landed" and also a GIF of the ship that orbited around the moon.

Armstrong said the moon's surface is very, very fine-grained, almost like powder

Aldrin, 86 now, also appeared on a Facebook Live event later in the day to commemorate the historic event. Only 12 people have walked on the moon so far. Armstrong passed away in 2012 at the age of 82. Collins is 85-year-old now.

July 20, 2016, also marked 40th anniversary of Viking 1's landing on Mars

July 20 is also an important date in the history of man's space adventure because it was on the same day in 1976 when Viking 1 lander had touched the surface of Mars. While Viking 1 and 2 were launched from the Earth in 1975. Viking 1 landed on the Red Planet on July 20, 1976, as the first American craft and it sent back pictures, analysis and information on the planet till November 1982.

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